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EARLY AMERICAN 
WROUGHT IRON 


ALBERT H.SONN 


WITH THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY PLATES 
FROM DRAWINGS BY THE AUTHOR 


VOLUME I 


“Not as idle ore, but as iron dug from 
’ 24 - 
central gloom .. . to shape and use. 
—TENNYSON. 


ST CLEMEN 
PATRON OF THE 
BLACKSMITHS 


CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS 
NEW YORK 
1928 


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CopyricHrt, 1928, BY 


CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS 


Printed in the United States of America 


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TO THE MEMORY OF MY DEAR WIFE 
ELIZABETH 
TRUE COMPANION AND HELPMEET 
; THIS WORK 
IS AFFECTIONATELY 
DEDICATED 


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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 


all who have so generously aided me in collecting the material for 
these volumes. 

They have taken me in their cars to places difficult of access; they have 
given of their time, knowledge, and skill. Though I was often a stranger 
they took me in, sharing their treasures with me, and setting me in the way 
of making new finds. Their friendly cooperation has considerably short- 
ened my task and made it easier and more pleasant. Their number is 
legion, and the space so limited that it permits the special mention of only 
a few who gave most signal aid. 

The unfailing interest and helpful criticism of Mr. J. B. Carrington 
during the compilation of these pages have been a constant source of en- 
couragement, and much of the credit for the completion of the book in its 
present form is due to him. 

A large measure of thanks is also due to Henry C. Mercer, Sc.D., Presi- 
dent and Curator of the Museum of the Bucks County Historical Society 
at Doylestown, Pa., for his many courtesies. 

Mr. J. Frederick Kelly, A. I. A., of New Haven, Conn.; Mr. Hervey 
P. Clark, of Santa Barbara, Calif.; and Mr. E. Irving Couse, N. A., of Taos, 
N. Mex., have been more than kind in allowing the use of their personal 
sketches and notes. 

I am indebted to Mr. George W. Johnson, photographer, of Charleston, 
S. C., for a deal of valuable information and many practical suggestions. 

For permission to make drawings of wrought-iron articles in their pri- 
vate collections special thanks are due to: Mr. W. E. Irving, New York 
City; Mr. Francis C. Mireau, Doylestown, Pa.; Messrs. W. B. and W. E. 
Montague, Norristown, Pa.; Mr. and Mrs. William E. Bailey, Harrisburg, 
Pa.; Mrs. J. Insley Blair, Tuxedo, N. Y.; Mr. Henry F. du Pont, South- 
ampton, L. I.; Mr. Newton D. Lockwood, Plainville, Conn.; Mr. George 
Dudley Seymour, New Haven, Conn.; Mr. Henry W. Erving, Hartford, 


{ vii } 


T is a genuine pleasure to express here my sincere gratitude to 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 


Conn.; Colonel Henry D. Paxson, Philadelphia, Pa.; Mr. Myron S. T eller, a 
Ringctoe N. Y.; Mr. Henry Ford, Sudbury, Mass. — 


of Bucks County Historical te Museu Mr. Albert C. Bats, 9 yf 
Connecticut Historical Society, ees Conn.; Mr. Edwin ae S 


Morgan Memorial Nea Harehed. Conn.; Mr. Henry W. | : 
the Essex Institute, Salem, Mass.; Mr. Reolerick C. King, As: 
rator of the Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia; Mr. Hens 
Curator of the Pilgrim Society Museum, Plymouth, Mass.; Mr. 
Wood, Dartmouth Museum, New Bedford, Mass.; Miss Laura 
Charleston Museum, Charleston, S. C.; Mrs. George Sheldon, | 
Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield, Mass.; Massachusetts Hist 
Society, Boston, Mass.; Captain Wm. B. Clark, Bostonian Society, B 
Mass.; Mr. Wm. Wallace Lunt, Hingham, Mass.; Hingham Histori 
ciety, Hingham, Mass.; Mr. J. Vaughn Dennett, Fiaimingkawe 
Ernest E. Rogers, New London County Historical Society, N 
Conn.; New Haven Colony Historical Society, New Haven, Cc 
Histovicd! Society, Quincy, Mass.; Medford Historical Society 
Mass.; Miss Mary D. Hutchins, of the Litchfield Historical Sc 
field, Mass.; Mr. Howard M. Chapin, Rhode Island Historic 
Providence, R. I.; Newport Historical Society, Newport, R. L; 
Wall, New York Plisestices Society, New York City; Doctor 
State Museum, Newburgh, N. Y.; Mr. Wm. Henry Shelton, C 
Mansion, New York City; Long Ted Historical Society, Brox 
New Jersey Historical Society, Newark, N. J.; Trenton Histo 
Old Barracks, Trenton, N. J.; Bichnaes County Historical $ 

lington, N. J.; Bergen County Historical Society, Hackens 
Pennsylvania Historical Society, Philadelphia, Pa.; Site and 
ciety, Germantown, Pa.; Berks County Historical heirs € 
St. Augustine Pistosica! Society, St. Augustine, Fla.; Mr. 
Sellers, Philadelphia, Pa.; Mr. Joseph Everett Chandler, 

Mr. Samuel Lapham and ‘Mr Albeee Simmons, Chaseonant 
David M. Ach, New York City; Mr. William Gedney Beatty 


[ viii } 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 


City; Mr. James Lord Pratt, Essex, Conn.; Mr. W. W. Taylor, Sudbury, 
Mass.; Doctor H. C. Rondthaler, President, Salem College, Winston-Salem, 
N. C.; Reverend Wm. Vogeler, Nazareth, Pa.; Mrs. George L. Meyers, 
Historian of the Moravian Church, Bethlehem, Pa.; Mr. Benjamin O. Eg- 
gleston, Brooklyn, N. Y.; Mr. Westcott Burlingame, Albany, N. Y.; Mr. 
Cuyler Reynolds, City Historian, Albany, N. Y.; Mr. J. Stogdell Stokes, 
Philadelphia, Pa.; Mr. Randolph R. Urich, Myerstown, Pa.; Mr. L. J. Gil- 
bert, Lebanon, Pa.; Mr. F. D. Britton, West Chester, Pa.; Mr. Clayton 
Musselman, Ephrata, Pa.; Mr. Charles Stauffert, Norristown, Pa.; Mr. S. 
D. Gibson, West Hurley, N. Y.; Doctor O. S. Watrous, Middletown, Conn.; 
Mr. and Mrs. Weldon Roberts, Montclair, N. J.; Mr. and Mrs. D. A. Rowe, 
East Orange, N. J.; Mr. and Mrs. Harold E. Fritts, Hudson, N. Y.; Mr. 
and Mrs. Wm. L. MacRae, Syracuse, N. Y.; Mr. Peter F. Campbell, Stam- 
ford, Conn.; Mr. Elmer D. Zimmerman, Monterey, Pa.; Mr. S. H. P. Pell, 
Fort Ticonderoga, N. Y.; Victoria and Albert Museum and Geffrey Mu- 
seum, London. 

It is only fair to my daughter, Ione M. Sonn, to acknowledge here her 
pertinent advice and efficient assistance in the organization and seemingly 
endless revision entailed in the preparation of these volumes. 

We are also grateful for the help and inspiration afforded by the books 
and articles consulted in the course of our study, a representative list of 
which appears at the end of Volume III. In all cases where these have 
been specifically quoted from we have tried to give full credit, any omission 
being purely inadvertent and due to the handling of the vast amount of 


detail,in these volumes. jag Casita AEN 


Mippte Happam, Conn. 


[ix J 


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FOREWORD 


N the introduction to his “English Iron-Work of the XVIIth and 
XVIIIth Centuries,” J. S. Gardner laments that “though these [speci- 
mens of iron-work] are talked about, and sketched, and photographed, 

neither their relative rarity, or dates, nor the names and characteristics of 
the artists who produced them are known.” He might have written this 
with equal truth of American wrought iron during that period. Indeed, 
save for the immortal lines of the poet Longfellow, “the village black- 
smith” has received but little recognition. And until quite recently even 
less attention was given to the genuine artistic merit of his productions. 
It was to help in some measure to supply this lack that these volumes were 
undertaken. 

The searcher for authentic data about the early colonial smiths and the 
things they made is confronted with discouraging difficulties. In the first 
place the blacksmith, unlike other metal-workers, rarely if ever signed or 
dated his productions, nor did he publish a_record of his designs. Such 
signatures and records would be a great ‘aid in dating specific examples, as- 
signing them to correct locality and maker, and in discovering the greater 
artists among the smiths who produced them. 

Then, too, the references to this subject that occur in contemporary 
records, letters, diaries, ledgers, histories, and the like are few and meager. 
At best they merely name the smiths in a particular district, or list the 
hardware and sometimes its prices, or comment sadly on the high cost of 
having ironwork made. But in only the rarest instances, as, for example, 
some of the gates and grilles in Charleston, S. C., do we know who made 
a specific piece. And in such cases the work is often of a period well along 
in the eighteenth century. 

It is not even safe to assume that the wrought-iron hardware on an 
early colonial home is contemporaneous with the date when the house was 
built. On many of these old houses one finds latches of various vintages, 


{ xi } 


FOREWORD 


and a careful scrutiny often yields evidences of alterations and replace- 
ments in the shape of telltale cusp marks, lift-openings, nail-holes, and so 
forth. ‘“Restorers” have also been known to install hardware just because 
it was old, regardless of whether it was true to the type in general use in 
that district and during the period to which the house beens In thie 


agrees “in period style” where the i elclee is manifestly of French 
—a fine reproduction of its kind, but not truly representative of the local 

To depend on the memory of the oldest inhabitant for accurate inforr 
tion is also in many cases to lean on a very weak reed, as the following 
cident aptly illustrates: A delightfully kind and gracious New E 
D. A. R., who confessed to having enjoyed the sunshine of more than 
summers, had permitted the sketching of several fine eighteenth 
latches in her charming ancestral home. ‘“‘And now since you are 
terested,” she confided after seeing the drawings, “I’m going to ¢ 
what is really the finest latch in the house, and the very oldest, th h Ww 
don’t often let outsiders see it.”” Happily conscious of spec an unusu 


ing stairs. ““My oe used to lift me up ules I was just by 
girl, so I could see and admire this latch,” ae 
was so proud of it.” What finally met the eye on that ences attic dc 
was a highly ornate cast-iron latch of 1845 or later, as we ine succee 


believed that showy latch to Ber as old as her chiar asthe ey 
Indifference and sheer lack of appreciation for the value and b 
this early wrought iron have until quite recently been so icone 
complete that many fine examples have been consigned to the junk he 
irretrievably lost. Early in our search for material for these volui 
owner of a fine old Dutch colonial home in Bergen County, New J 
swered our usual inquiry as to the existence of any old wrought-ir 
or hinges on his house with a rueful smile and a slow negative nod. 
friend,” he said, “you are just about two years too late. There v 
latches on all the doors, but my wife kept complaining that they 
her dresses and tore them, and scratched and bruised her as she 
She kept saying she didn’t see why we couldn’t have up-to-date. ct 
things like other people. So I finally got tired of hearing her fuss abo 
them, and about two years ago we tore out all the old latches, jun 


{ xii } 


FOREWORD 


and put in modern ones. I’m sorry, but there’s not one of them left.” 
Needless to say, experiences like this made one all the more anxious to 
record for the edification and enjoyment of future generations such speci- 
mens as are still in existence, whether on old buildings, in museums, in pri- 
vate collections, or among the treasure-trove of dealers in antiques. 

These volumes are an attempt to compile such a record, making it as 
accurate and representative as possible. They lay no claim to being “lit- 
erature,” but do endeavor to bring to the attention of the lover of good 
craftsmanship the pleasing variety of design, the artistic conception and 
beauty of workmanship displayed in early American wrought iron. 

Such facts about it and its makers as could be gleaned were also included, 
but they were so fugitive, so often conflicting or even impossible to get, 
that occasionally one was forced to substitute conjecture or personal opin- 
ion. These are, however, the result of sincere conviction after earnest 
study and comparison. 

_. Where feasible, measurements are given and the individual drawings 

are as a rule in proportion. The articles are also classified and dated as 
accurately as possible. They were gathered and drawn up on plates over 
a considerable period of years, so there are a few cases where figures appear- 
ing on the same plate are not of the same class. 

It would be quite impossible in a general treatment like this to go into 
the subject exhaustively in each section of the colonies, or to do full jus- 
tice to districts as rich in fine examples of the craft as those in Connecticut, 
Pennsylvania, Charleston, and New Orleans. The specimens shown are 
those typical of the various localities, or rare, or unusual in design. The 
few foreign examples inserted from time to time were included either as 
proof of the European inspiration of some of our native pieces, or to help 
identify some that may come to light. There are doubtless many such 
merely waiting discovery. 

It is gratifying and encouraging to note a genuine revival of interest in 
early American wrought iron, as is evidenced by the keen bidding at dealers’ 
sales and by the increasing number and scope of private collections. Per- 
haps it is not too much to hope that the time is not far off when these col- 
lections will be suitably housed in the museums of the country, and so be- 
come available and more easily accessible to an increasingly appreciative 
public. 

As a result of this Renaissance there are springing up throughout the 
country studios and workshops of skilled and serious-minded craftsmen 


{ xiii } 


FOREWORD 


with the high ideals of the ancient guild, conn to 
metal to suit an intelligent and growing clientele. 

Unfortunately, there are other “craftymen,’’ who > 
tage of the i increasing popular demand, and are reproducing ‘ 
pieces,’ ’ and foisting them on a gullible public a top prices. 1 
ering” in most of these faked antiques is general. ly crudely Jone, | 
and the so-called “hand hammering” and “antique chasing 
easy for an experienced and discriminating eye to 
buyer need not be taken in. ; 


Axiv 


CONTENTS AND PLATES 


VOLUME I 
Door of the Old Mission House, Stockbridge, Mass. . . . Frontispiece 


CHAPTER I: EARLY AMERICAN WROUGHT IRON UP TO 1850 


PAGE 


Peerernigronyeor tne Industry. le ee ae ona ea 3 
USES OA) ROLE SGI ECE CO Deane Gey Oe) ey ee 6 

pretieaticncot Marly Wrought Iron. Designs ~ (4) 2. . 0 ie 9 

SePEREOPETSOTI PACK BURNIT NG Rte te Fer ef Me ake em Sa go LET 
Old Smith's Forge. -. oe eee Late >t 


Early American Anvils af Bickerns Plate 2 


CHAPTER II: EARLY AMERICAN DOOR HARDWARE 


Wooden Forerunners TOES eee itn aaa egies elmer a seye <7 
String Latch, Hinge, ia Boirs eRe ee ES? 
Other Latches, and Shutter Bar . . Plates 4 and § 
Wrought Iron Door Hardware: Locally Made, or Imported from England . 18 
Wrought Iron Knockers . . Ge ah nian Sig eer eo ae ars Cen oar OL 
American and European Tyneh ss ,d lates 6-12 
Knocker MAES ER WAP cnn > ened, ee al ee Me RS oe, ML eS. E 
nT NPCS. ol bo ae eg OES DSers 
Rive Laviand Types oa a | Plates A630 
General Description of a Wrought Iron Door Latch . . . . . . . 23 
meresorvrought iron Latches) pin Scale ores ee eRe ieee Na a oe 
Bre reeiecth Lat LatChey sa nels a eee ae ee MRE Lak re es OA 
PAPIOUSA ANDES Sucdl ie -Pc a t een os ie ee Late g s 


{ xv } 


CONTENTS AND PLATES 
Suffolk one i ss an a ss. bet ne — ey 
ArrowsHead Patter: Weis a san Plates PDs 52, 535 65, ee 
Ball and Spear Pattern . . . . Plates 38, 50, 51, 55, 58 
Swordfish Type eo en hae go A tas Ob 


Swivel Lift . . . sa ea oe ee Renae 4597495 545 56,63, 65y84-Bo 
Ball, Crescent, and § gear os) aaah Cee Re ea 
PinesTree Patertt i. nn) igo ee ee See i a ae 
Tobacco-Leaf Pattern ~ 20 0 =. - Plate Oe Lo ee 
Bean Types. . . . . . . . Plates 36, 54, 63, 64 ek 
Heart Motifa 00 Fp OE EE wae fa 
Lulip Motifs Oo NEO a ae ee eG 70, 75 
Cockshead Pattern: $03 ° 0 5 Peas ic 80, 83, roe, 

Lyte Patter: ei oe Re ee 

Farmington Type . . . . Plates 43, 44. 


East Haddam, Conn., District Ty pes . Plates 45-48 = 
Dominating Upper Cusp . . . . Plates 58, 68-80, 85 

Single Cusp. . » » Phades 81-83 et 
Transition from Fash a Lock Types - Platds 63-555 
Norfolk and Suffolk Swivel Lift . . Plate ° 


Norfolk Larches’yi As Sg ae Mines cae = me 


Barly: Lyped OU 2 aoe ag ie ane Plates pe Sas 
Eater Types ego ee ey AER GOSGE Ta 


Early Type Cast-Iron Linehes Se aie eg ae ce : 


Development of Lifts and Bars . . . . . . myrtle 
Thumb-Presses or “Strikers” .  . . Plate 93 
Latch Catches 2 0. Sgn 4 eM 
Latch Bars. 6 te ree 


Latch-Locks'; 7,0 3 3 ee 
Various Types Ota en eee Plates San xa 


Locks . hae 

di Hastration pon Moxon’ $ “ Mechanick Bsercises ore 

TE Op Rg Se REG RE hace Fale acetone | 

Types:of Lacki ic 6 Se ae Plates 106-10 

Lock Escutcheons 0 0S eo 108-1 
Door-Pulls and Escutcheon. . . Rivas IES: 


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Ritts 


, 


CHAPTER GL 


EARLY AMERICAN WROUGHT IRON 
UP TO 1850 


BRIEF HISTORY OF THE INDUSTRY 


one of the many natural resources of the American colonies. As early 

as 1585 the Raleigh expedition discovered iron ore on Roanoke Island, 
N. C., and in 1608 some bog ore was actually exported to England from 
Jamestown, Va. There was rock ore, too, for Morton speaks of the exist- 
ence of “iron stone” in New England in 1632. But bog and pond ore 
supplied the metal for most of the earliest iron articles wrought in the 
colonies, and was extensively used until the eighteenth century. 

Bog ore has been most ably described by J. Starkie Gardner (“ Iron- 
work,” Part I, p. 7) as follows: a 

“Tron ores are indeed still forming by land and sea, but most rapidly in 
still water. In the shallow parts of the Swedish lakes a stratum of 4 to 6 
inches is deposited in 5 to 30 years, constituting one of the chief supplies 
of the famous Swedish iron. 

“{Iron] dissolved from the soil, on coming into contact with carbonic 
and other acids produced by decaying vegetation, is extensively precipi- 
tated in stagnant waters as limonite or bog iron, the action being denoted 
by the occasional rise of bubbles of carbonic acid and a thin film on the 
surface. Iron pans or crusts so often found at the bottom of peats and 
gravels are produced in this way and were extensively smelted by the 
Romans, while in Canada ores of recent origin are still largely used at the 
present day.” 

For the smelting of iron an adequate wood supply was a very potent 
factor. ‘‘Let it be known to those who know it not,” says Moxon in his 
quaint “Mechanik Exercises,” published in London in 1694 or earlier, “that 
iron is by a violent Fire melted out of hard stones called Iron Stones; of 
these Iron Stones many countries have a great plenty. But because it 
wasts such great quantities of Wood to draw Iron from them, it will not in 
many Places quit cost to use them.” “Great quantities of wood”’ in the 


13] 


|: will be perhaps a surprise to many to learn how soon iron proved to be 


EARLY AMERICAN WROUGHT IRON 


dense forests at their very doors gave our early iron-workers a decided ad- 
vantage in this respect. And of course later on there was coal as well, the use 
of which seems to have been confined solely to smiths’ forges until about 1808. 

Prior to the introduction of the machine era of the nineteenth century 
there was little difference in the methods of fashioning wrought iron. The 
crude charcoal methods of the Middle Ages were still in general use. In- 
deed, a hand-wrought nail recently picked up in the Roman Forum, where 
some excavating had unearthed it, proved on comparison so like one taken 
from an old house of the year 1724 in Wethersfield, Conn., that they might 
well have been wrought by the same hand, despite the difference of a thou- 
sand years and more in their ages. 

Massachusetts seems warranted in claiming the establishment of the 
first successful colonial iron-works at Saugus Center, near Lynn, about 
1685, though there had been a previous venture at Falling Creek, Va., in 
1621, ending in failure because the buildings were destroyed in an Indian 
massacre before iron could actually be produced. The operating company 
at Saugus was granted rights to manufacture cast-iron pots and other 
wares “on condition that the inhabitants of this jurisdiction shall be fur- 
nished with all sorts of barr iron for their use—not exceeding 20£ per ton.” 
The price of the product is certainly interesting, and perhaps some of this 
“barr iron” was used in making wrought-iron hardware in that section. 

During the latter part of the seventeenth century attempts at estab- 
lishing iron-works seem to have been quite general in all the colonies wher- 
ever bog ore was discovered. But it was not until the mid-eighteenth 
century that the industry was really firmly established. 

New York and Connecticut were evidently sending iron to England as 
early as 1748, for a Swedish traveler in America at that time wrote of hay- 
ing seen it as cargo on outbound ships. Before 1768 good iron, produced 
by Hasenclever at Charlottenburg, N. J., was also being shipped to Eng- 
land. Manufactured articles must have found their way to the mother 
country, too, for contemporary records show that British manufacturers, 
while quick to claim superiority in producing the smaller and finer nails, 
admitted the excellence of American-made spikes, bolts, and large nails. 

In fact, the American iron industry at that time must have been suf- 
ficiently vigorous to arouse the fears of the British manufacturers. For in- 
stead of encouraging it as so many of the influential men in the colonies urged, 
it seems to have been the settled policy of the home government to restrain 
it in every possible way. In 1747, for example, a Col. Joseph Pitkin had 


[4] 


i." eo oe 


PST Ores) 


succeeded in getting the right to set up an iron slitting-mill in East Hart- 
ford, Conn., only to have the British Parliament prohibit this and other 
colonial iron-works in the decree of 1750. Sheffield did its best to have a 
decree passed prohibiting the importation of American iron in 1757. And 
that very year Birmingham, while she clamored for our iron on the ground 
that England produced only half enough for the home trade, succeeded in 
having the erection of American slitting and rolling mills prohibited.* 

In spite of this systematic opposition and restraint on the part of the 
mother country, the American iron industry was able to supply iron equip- 
ment for the patriot army during the war for independence. The follow- 
ing excerpt from the proceedings of the Connecticut General Assembly in 
December, 1776 (“Records of the State of Connecticut,” vol.I), shows what 
one colonial foundry was doing to help the cause: 


“Whereas it is of greatest importance for the safety and defense of 
this, the United States of America, that the foundery of cannon should be 
continued at Salisbury, and in order thereto that some proper persons should 
be appointed to procure wood and coal and other materials for that purpose— 

“Resolved by this assembly that Mr. Benjamin Henshaw be and is 
hereby appointed and directed to repair forthwith to Salisbury and apply 
to Col. Joshua Porter, manager of said foundery, and afford him all the as- 
sistance in his power.” 


Fifty men were kept at work there for four or five years, often under 
guard for fear of capture by raiding British troops, and quantities of mor- 
tars, cannon, swivel guns, hand-grenades, camp-kettles, and other neces- 
sities were made and widely distributed. 

One of the most interesting things made by American iron-works during 
those dark days was the famous chain that spanned the Hudson to prevent 
Lord Howe’s fleet from passing West Point. According to Swank, Los- 
sing, and other authorities, the ore for this chain was mined in Orange 
County, N. Y. It was forged at the Stirling Iron Works in that county, 
carried in sections to West Point, and put in place—the 180 tons of it— 
in May, 1778. See Plate 320, Vol. III. 

General Washington and his staff are said to have visited John: Jacob 
Faesch, regarded as one of New Jersey’s greatest ironmasters and most 
loyal citizens, to negotiate for some army equipment during the war for 
independence, and like instances could doubtless be cited in other of the 


* See foot-note, Plate 83, Figure 4—reference to similar action on the part of French manufacturers. 


[5] 


EARLY AMERICAN WROUGHT IRON 


struggling colonies. It will perhaps not come amiss to note here that 
George Washington’s own father was a manufacturer of pig iron at Ac- 
cokuck Furnace, Va., and that Lincoln’s Massachusetts ancestor was also tz 
engaged in the iron industry near Hingham. 
Colonial iron-workers manufactured cast-iron articles, faintinentenaae : 
spikes, “‘gunnes,” anchors, nails,* and the like. For making the best nails 


Ficure I. Odd nails re various dates previous to 1776. 4) 
Ficure 2. ““Mushroom” spike removed from a beam in an old house dated af 
Ralph Burnham, Ipswich, Mass. 
Ficure 3. Old nails of the early “finishing” t type, with narrow head. 
Ficure 4. Early hand-made tacks measuring about 44” and 4%” r i . 
Erving of Hartford, Conn, found them in the Stretchers an old neelework 
about 1800, and describes them as “the smallest wrought tack I arioncake 
I saw some similar at one time on a hornbook.” 


*In his article, ‘The Dating of Old Borate hen 
Mercer, Curator of the Bucks County Historical Socie 
Mechanical Dictionary” on tack-making, as isllowss 
tacks from sheet metal and Se, (date not 

The description of the making of a nail in 
made from recta r strips of malleable iron, several 
rods, which were furnished to bao blacksmith or nailer, who 


16] 


Lebel, Oboe 


Russian and Swedish bar iron was generally used, though the native prod- 
uct was evidently not scorned. One George Megee, of Philadelphia, ad- 
vertising in the Pennsylvania Gazette of July, 1731, that he “maketh and 
selleth all Sorts of Nails,” specifically states that ““They are made of this 
Country Iron.” * 

Skilled farmer “‘nailers” also worked at this trade during the long win- 
ter months of partial idleness, and prisoners were also thus employed, as 
the old prison records of institutions like Newgatet in East Granby, Conn., 
and Bridewell in New York prove, viz., this from the minutes of the Com- 
mon Council of New York for December 3, 1788 (p. 419): 

“ * * * and also that the Commissioners provide the necessary tools 
and erect two forges for the manufacturing of Nails by the Vagrant and 
other Prisoners from time to time confined in Bridewell.”’ 

Some idea of what a late eighteenth-century “Nail Manufactory and 
Smith Works” in the colonies was like may be gleaned from the following 
notice in the New York Yournal and Patriotic Record for April 2, 1791 (from 
the files of the New York Historical Society): 


? 


TQ "BE SOLD 


Or Exchanged for Property in the Country, on advantageous 
Terms. 


THAT well known Nail Manufactory and Smith Works, No. 
22 Cherry street, now in compleat repair with tools and im- 
plements sufficient to employ 28 workmen—These works are 
so well known and established, that the proprietor may, with 
propriety assert that his nails have a more universal circula- 
tion than any others manufactured in America. Any person 
willing to purchase the above works, and employ the hands 
now at work, will be enabled to keep up the credit of this 
manufactory as is now established. And the subscriber as- 
sures the public that the business bears a more flattering pros- 
pect than it ever has since its commencement. 

As he wishes to enter in a line of business more retired is his 
only motive for disposing of the same. For further particulars 


apply to the subscriber on the premises— 
PPy P Jacos Foster. 


*From a brochure published by the Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia. 
{ See foot-note on Plate 78. 
[7] 


EARLY AMERICAN WROUGHT IRON . 


N.B. If the above works are not sold by the 1st of April 
next, they will then be Let on moderate terms, together with 
the house in front. 


There was a period during the general confusion and disorganization 
that followed the close of the Revolutionary War when our native ee 
tries were in eclipse and more than the usual amount of products, includin 
iron and i ironware, were imported. Old account books, pone ce 


torical oe 
Anthony Ackley 
At the Sign of the Golden Mill Saw, No. 7 Broad Street 


Has JUST IMPORTED 


An Addition To His Usual Stock of Hardware, Ironmongery ham 
and Cutlery Consisting of the Following Articles, Viz. ee 
Window Glass, 4d nails, Spades and Shovels, sheet lead ar 
sheet iron, Smoothing Irons, long and short handle fryit 
pans, tin plates in boxes, brass and iron wire, shovels and tot 
mill, hand, crosscut and tenant saws, bellows, brass and i 
candiedena: cutloe and barlow penknives, ivory bone, 
buck-handle knives and forks, iron squares, pa gimb 


and tenant sawfiles, ivory and hor combs; ge ag hee ed 
screws, brass knob and thumb latches, locks of " sorts, brass" 


is 
and iron window pulleys etc. etc. etc. 


in the course of the debate on the ievvies of a ieee imposed ‘Se 

“We had then (1783) but few manufactures among us, and t h 
quantities of goods that flowed in upon us from Europe at the co 
the war rendered those few almost useless.”* — 


* (See Annals of Congress—First Session—April, 1789.) The very fact that Cee. 
hard at work indicates the extent of these importations, as well as the revival and increase of J A 


factures. 
[8] 


UP TO 1850 


From those first gallant attempts at producing iron and ironware in prac- 
tically every settlement in the colonies the industry went on developing in 
spite of obstacles during the colonial and subsequent periods, until it became 
one of the most important in the country. 

The great industrial era of the nineteenth century brought in its train 
the machine-cut nail, the machine-pointed screw, the cast-iron latch and 
lock and hinge, etc., which gradually displaced the hand-wrought articles of 
the earlier period. In the scramble for cheapness and volume of production 
artistry was forgotten, and monotony and commonplaceness and over- 
elaboration prevailed. 

The practical mind of the mechanic gives little thought to decoration. 
Too often, as the well-known architect Pugin says, “‘ornaments are actually 
constructed, instead of forming the decoration of construction, to which in 
good taste they should always be subservient.” He also points out that 
“the construction itself should vary with the material employed, and the 
designs should be adapted to the materials in which they are executed.” If 
the modern iron-workers carried out these two fundamental principles of 
only decorating construction, and of adapting structure and design to ma- 
terials used, we should be spared much of the ugliness of the present so- 
called “‘Venetian” and “Florentine” ironwork. 

It would, however, be unjust as well as untrue to brand all our mod- 
ern ironwork as hopelessly inartistic. One has only to examine some of the 
gates, balconies, railings, and other iron accessories on a number of our 
recently built homes, commercial and public structures, to be impressed 
with a very gratifying revival of the old high standards. Who knows but 
that we are entering on a renaissance that will perhaps surpass even the 
best of what has gone before ? 


DERIVATION OF EARLY AMERICAN WROUGHT-=-IRON DESIGNS 


Strictly speaking, there is little if anything in the field of early American 
wrought iron that one might justly claim as being distinctly American, that 
is, of being characteristically indigenous or novel in design and execution. 
Before the discovery and colonization of America by Europeans, the use 
of iron seems to have been unknown to the Indians generally, though those 
in Mexico were using gold, silver, and copper. This is doubtless due to the 
fact that, as McCulloch states, ‘iron though most common, is the most dif- 
ficult of all metals to obtain in a state fit for use; and the discovery of the 
method of working it seems to have been posterior to the use of gold, silver 


[9] 


EARLY AMERICAN WROUGHT IRON 


and copper.” We show a few pieces made by the Indians of the Southwest, 
but they are at best hybrids and not “‘of the soil.” See Plate 163, Vol. II. 

Instead of finding ironwork of Indian manufacture and design, there is 
evidence that the colonists-instructed the native Americans in its use. In — 
“O’Callaghan’s Documentary History of New York” there is a letter from =» — 
Colonel William Johnson to Governor Clinton, dated August 10, 1748, in 
which he says: 5 eee 

“T have agreed with a Smith etc., to go to the Senecas for 6 months fe 
£70, but there is no bellows there worth a pin, so cannot tell how to do 
that case. I believe I can get all the rest of the Smiths at the same pr 
but they are desirous to know how they are paid.” 

There are also warrants and allowances to Colonel Johnson “for ¢ 
furnished the Smiths sent among the Indians in 1750 and 1751.” 
again in August, 1769, Johnson writes to Lord Hillsboro: 

“When we assembled the Senecas began with a long tale of what 
called grievances. ... That they could not do without Smiths, se 
their arms and other implements used in hunting.” 


tom was rarely deviated from save as an cece ea occasion pee 
The Dutch settlers in New York, New Jersey, and elsewhere left 1 


handiwork of the contemporary English smiths. A little exploring 
Pennsylvania German towns will reveal many replicas of the art as 
in the German Palatinate of two or more centuries ago. — 

In northern New York, and in Vermont, New Hampshire, ant 
one still sees an occasional reminder that this district was originall 
French domination. Evidence of the early French blacksmiths’ wo: 
out here and there in the form of a shapely old hinge, or in the subtle tur 
or twist of an andiron or latch or other bit of old wrought i iron. Sor 
interesting specimens have recently been unearthed in the old fortifi 
of both Crown Point (old Fort St. Frederic of the French, built j in 
and Ticonderoga (originally known as Forts Carillon and Vaudre 
in 1755-56). The traditional “Latin” lines of sixteenth and se 
century France and Spain are everywhere evident, too, in the i irom 
the Vieux Carré in old New Orleans. “ 

Many fine examples of wrought iron in Charleston, S. Ge were 
by Johnson or MacLeish, Thibaut, Justi, and Werner, or Ortman, 


[ 10 ] ze 


UR. TO, 1650 


concrete example in one locality of the main sources—English, Latin, and 
German—of the early blacksmith’s art in this country. 

Early American wrought iron is therefore a sort of Salmagundian affair, 
a mixture largely British in character because British colonists generally 
predominated, but with a dash of the French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, and 
German to leaven the whole. 


EARLY AMERICAN BLACKSMITHS 


What manner of man was the blacksmith of those early days, and what 
did he actually make? Except in a few instances, history answers the 
question very meagerly, if at all. 

Even the tombstones in many of the ancient burial-grounds from New 
England to the land of Dixie yield few traces of these knights of the anvil. 
This inscription from a stone in old St. Paul’s churchyard in New York 
City, is typical of what one finds, and is one of the few that came to light: 


HERE LYES THE BODY OF 
JAMES DAVIS LATE SMITH TO 
THE ROYAL ARTILLERY WHO 

DEPARTED THIS LIFE 17TH DAY OF 
DECEMBER 1769 AGED 39 YEARS 
BEHOLD AND SEE AS YOU PASS BY 
AS YOU ARE NOW SO ONCE WAS I 
AS I AM NOW SO YOU WILL BE 
PREPARE FOR DEATH AND FOLLOW ME 


‘Tf the spirit of James Davis still lingers there or ever returns, one won- 
ders how it reacts to the familiar sound of iron on iron, as the tall modern 
skyscrapers that now surround that little plot of ground rear their mighty 
skeletons, one after another. 

That the smith sometimes came into this country as a bond-servant 
is evidenced by notices like the following from Bradford’s New York Gazette 
for June 10, 1728 (in the archives of the New York Historical Society in 


New York City): 
Advertisements 
The Ship Happy Return, is lately arrived at the City of New 


York, from Dublin, with Men and Women Servants: many of 
the Men are Tradesmen, as Blacksmiths, Carpenters, Weavers, 


{1 J 


EARLY AMERICAN WROUGHT IRON 


Taylors, Cordwainers, and other Trades, which Servants are 
to be seen on board the said Vessel, lying over against Mr. 
Reads Wharff, and to be disposed of by John S. and Joseph 


Read on reasonable terms. 


But he was often a full-fledged free citizen, for his name appears on the 


lists of burgers and freemen in the old civic records. Among the first to 
be so mentioned is a certain “‘Claes Pieterzen, Smith,” on the old New 
York list for April 18, 1657. And the 1670 census of male citizens in New- 
castle, Delaware, yields the name of one “Ellegert, the smith.” Both 
these men were obviously Dutch, as was only natural in settlements spon- 
sored by Holland. But early documents on file in the New York City Hall 
of Records give English names as well as Dutch, viz.: 

Samuel Phillips, Blacksmith, December 5, 1695. Burker Myndearts,* 
Blacksmith, January 23, 1696. John Cooley, Smith, August 23, 1698. 
Johannes Van Voorst, Blacksmith, August 23, 1698. John Peterson Melott, 
Blacksmith, September 6, 1698. Hendrik Bush, Blacksmith, September 6, 
1698. Abram Van Aarnam, Blacksmith, September 6, 1698. Martin 
Beeckman, Blacksmith, September 6, 1698. John Breesteade, Blacksmith, 
February 3, 1699. John Bachan, Blacksmith, March 27, 1700. Joseph 
Hart, Blacksmith, May 27, 1702. Richard Steward, Blacksmith, May 27, 
1702. Thomas Hews, Blacksmith, May 27, 1702. William Hall, Black- 
smith, May 30, 1702. Andrew Hannis, Blacksmith, August 5, 1707. 
William Brown, Blacksmith, October 11, 1710. William Bouquet, Black- 
smith, April 14,1713. Thomas Elde, Blacksmith, April 24, 1716. Ebenezer 
Mors, Blacksmith, April 24,1716. Abraham Price, Blacksmith, June 4, 1717. 

There must have been a goodly number of anvils ringing in the New 
York of the early seventeen hundreds, for this by no means scanty list in- 


cludes only citizen smiths. And doubtless conditions there were typical of 


all the larger towns in the colonies. 

Now and then we stumble on such isolated facts as, for example, that 
Griswell and Parkes appear in the records as “contractors” for the iron- 
work on the house to be built “‘for the ministry” in New London, Conn. 
(See Miss Caulkin’s “History of New London,” pp. 99-100); or that the 
town of Hartford gives one Joseph Nash, “probably a smith,” liberty to set 
up a shop on the town land in 1671 (see “Records of the Connecticut His- 

* In the old records of Newburgh, N. Y., appears the following: . . . “and the ninth lot to one Burgher Min- 


dertse, a blacksmith who had purchased the right of one of the said Palatines;” probably the same smith who had 
gone to the later settlement seeking newer fields. 


{12 } 


EP er OF1so0 


torical Society,” vol. VI, p. 164); or that one James Scrawley, Blacksmith, 
owns a plating forge and tilt hammer at Waywayanda, N. Y., in 1751. 
But when we seek further knowledge—as to whether Griswell and Parkes 
were blacksmiths or just merchants; or whether Nash and Scrawley actually 
made any of the hardware in their respective districts, and if so, what and 
when—all is veiled from us by the mists of time. ; 

Occasionally, too, stray references in the various old local periodicals 
give us little tantalizing indications of the activities of the early smiths and 
the part they played in the economic life of their day. This one from the 
American Magazine for July 9, 1788 (in the files of the New York Historical 
Society), opens up several interesting veins of speculation, not the least of 
them being the reason for the meeting it advertises: 


Notice 


All White and Black-Smiths in the City of New York are re- 
quested to meet at the City Tavern Tomorrow Evening at 6 
o’clock. 


It will be remembered in this connection that a blacksmith is one who 
works in iron with a forge, and that a whitesmith works in white metal (as 
a tin or silversmith), or is a finisher or galvanizer of iron. 

Another item culled from an old newspaper in the archives of the New 
York Historical Society describes the celebration in honor of the adoption 
of the Constitution by New Hampshire at Portsmouth, on July 3, 1788. 
Of special interest to us is the 

PROCESSION 
BAND OF MUSIC IN AN OPEN COACH AND SIX HORSES, DECORATED 
HUSBANDMEN 
A PLOW DRAWN BY NINE YOKE OF OXEN 
A MAN SOWING 
A HARROW 
REAPERS, THRESHERS, MOWERS, HAYMAKERS EACH WITH THEIR PROPER 
IMPLEMENT 
A MAN SWINGLING FLAX 
A CART FOR GATHERING IN HARVEST 
BLACKSMITHS AND NAILERS, WITH THEIR FORGES, ANVILS AND SLEDGES 
AT WORK 
SHIPWRIGHTS WITH THEIR TOOLS 
CAULKERS 
ETC. 


{13 ] 


EARLY AMERICAN WROUGHT IRON 


It will be noted that the blacksmiths rank second to those engaged in 
the various branches of agriculture, a significant indication of their impor- 
tance in the economic scheme at that time. 

In nearly all the early settlements one is able to find evidence that the 
town fathers realized. the necessity of encouraging smithcraft, even to the 
extent of making a special grant of land to the worker in iron, as the fol- 
lowing excerpt from the old records of Middletown, Conn., for April 16, 
1663 illustrates: 


“george Durant allso doth ingage himself to be hear resident the next 


micelmus, insueing the deat hearof and allso to inhabit upon it and to do 
the towns worck of smithing during the tearm of four years befor he shall 
mac sale of it to any other.” * 


There is one curious incident described in the ‘‘Connecticut Colonial. 


Records,” vol. ‘I, pp. 81-102, that we cannot resist retelling here. It seems 
that one Thomas Hurlbut, known to his neighbors as “Naylor Tom,” was 
fined for overcharging. Oh, halcyon days when that could happen! But 
the court agreed to remit his fine if a fellow craftsman, Peter Bassaker, 
could not “make nayles with less losse and at as cheape a rate.” If Bas- 
saker succeeded, the court was to double Naylor Tom’s fine. The record 
does not say who won, but we do know that Hurlbut and Bassaker were at 
work in Hartford in 1643 


Aside from the human interest of this story, it shows how closely the 


governing bodies in those days supervised the trades, as well as everything 
else, a point that is illustrated again and again in the old records. Miss 
Caulkins in her ‘History of New London,” pp. 99-100, speaks of a smith, 
William Cheeseborough, ‘‘who had settled at Wequetequok, and whom the 
General Court compelled to live in New London on account of their fear 
that he would mend guns for the Indians.”” Where was the freedom the 
colonists had come so far and at such peril to seek ? 


These early blacksmiths seem to have been very well paid, “for one is — 


>> ¢¢ 


mentioned,” says J. T. Scharff in his ‘‘History of Delaware,” “who with his 
negroes, by working up old iron at sixpence per pound, earned fifty shillings 
a day. All contemporary writers speak of heavy charges for smith’s work, 
though there was no horseshoeing to be done.” 

On the roll of honor for continuous business existence in the United 
States, a family of Connecticut blacksmiths heads the list. To James Lord 
Pratt, “the village smithy” of Essex, Conn., belongs the unique distinction 


* From “The History of Middlesex County, Conn.,” published by J. B. Beers & Co., N. Y. 


{14 } 


N ‘Ss Sota Yall ake - ‘1 


AG aie te ATMO aes te een hy Ir 
PEP 8+ DOME ve ee ee ye 


UPST OVI G50 


of carrying on the unbroken line founded there by his ancestor, John Pratt, 
in 1678. The line runs: John, Jr., 1726; Lieutenant John, 1744; Asa, 1756; 
John, 1811; Elias, 1827; Edwin, 1870; and finally Jim, as he is affectionately 
known to all and sundry in his native Essex. He is a worthy successor to 
worthy sires for “general jobbing, horse shoeing, and antique reproduc- 
tions,” as his billhead reads, and his peer is not easily found. To this Pratt 
family credit is perhaps due for much of the fine hardware on the older 
houses along the banks of the Connecticut and the shores of the Sound 
near by, though it is difficult to establish this fact from actual bills, letters, 
or other contemporary records. Still, an old attic in the neighborhood may 
some day give up its secrets and provide the needed proof. 

Through the courtesy of Mr. George Dudley Seymour, of New Haven, 
another interesting family of Connecticut blacksmiths, the Warners of the 
Hadlyme district, has been brought to light. In a letter answering Mr. 
Seymour’s inquiry about them Mr. F. H. Parker says: 


Joseph Warner, the first blacksmith of the name in East Haddan, | 
died in 1793. I never have been able to ascertain when he began working 
at his trade but as early as 1783 he had two blacksmith’s shops, one on his 
homestead upon the lot now I think belonging to Harry Strong, the shop 
being in the northwest corner of the lot at the corner of Town Street and the 
road running easterly at this point. 

The Hadlyme Shop was on a farm owned by Mr. Warner in Hadlyme’ 
and near the present dwelling house of Charles H. Rich. Sometime before 
1791 he had transferred his home blacksmith shop to his son, Oliver War- 
ner, and his Hadlyme blacksmith shop to his son, Joseph Warner, Jr. The 
son Oliver Warner died in 1828 and probably kept up the blacksmith’s shop 
during his life. By his will he gave this property to his son, Orrin Warner, 
who did some blacksmithing until as late a date as 1860, but this black- 
smith shop was apparently never of great importance. Joseph Warner, Jr., 
continued blacksmithing in Hadylme until 1820 when he transferred the 
business to his son, Charles Warner. Charles Warner was an enterprising, 
manufacturing blacksmith. He made all sorts of edged tools and farm im- 

plements, and had a water power grind-stone nearby for grinding and pol- 
ishing his tools. He continued the business until 1842. This shop was an 
important enterprise until it was driven out of business by modern factory 
methods. 

Joseph Warner had another son, Ephraim Warner, who bought a black-_ 


[15] 


aie Dae aren S 


EARLY AMERICAN WROUGHT IRON 


smith shop also in Hadlyme in 1796 but discontinued it before 1800, when he 
opened a blacksmith shop in Millington near Millington Church. As to 
whether Joseph Warner or his son Oliver Warner, did any fine work in the 
blacksmith shop on Town Street, I have no information. They were in 
business there at a time when they may have made door latches for the old 
Congregational Church in Little Haddam, which was finished in 1794. I 
am sorry I can give you no further information. Ab 
Yours very truly, FH. Pa a 
We have it on the authority of Mr. R. Urich, of Myerstown, Pa., th 
Louis Bleichert, a Lebanon County blacksmith who recently died at t 
age of ninety-odd, also came of a long line of smiths. For years this ms 
kept the anvil ringing near the old Tulpohocken Church, as had his fz 
before him. So the Bleicherts are credited with many an interesting piece 
of “Pennsylvania Dutch” wrought iron in that locality. Swank inform 
us that Wyoming Valley, Pa., was settled by a colony of Connect 
ple and in 1768-69 two of them, brothers, by the name of Gore, v vh 
blacksmiths, were the first persons to use anthracite coal, using it in 
fire. In 1795 a blacksmith named Whetstone used anthracite coal 
Pottsville, while others attempting to use it abandoned it in disg 
But perhaps the most widely known of any of his fellow 
though he comes well toward the end of the wrought iron’ 
Elihu Burritt, “the wise blacksmith” of New Britain, Conn., 
honor a statue has recently been raised, facing the new high sc 
city. In 1827 he bound himself out to learn the trade, and he 
only a first-rate blacksmith, but an extraordinarily clever linguist 
mostly self-taught. He lectured extensively in England andi inA 
plying himself with funds whenever necessary by hard labor at 
where, in order to get more time for study, he did the work of two 


THE BLACKSMITH ; 
Old Song 


Oh the blacksmith’s a fine sturdy fellow, a Se 
Hard his hand but his heart’s true and mellow, 
See him stand there, his huge bellows blowing, == 
Fiery darts fall in showers all ’round, 

While the sledge on the anvil a-ringing, 

Fills the air with its loud clanging sound. 


[16] 


CHAPTER II 
EARLY AMERICAN DOOR HARDWARE 


. WOODEN FORERUNNERS 
4 AO the lot of the pioneer fall many vexing problems of household 


economics. Being isolated from the source of supply, temporary 

expedients are often resorted to and for this reason we find many 
of the earliest American latches, hinges, bolts, etc., made of wood, the best 
available oak and hickory being used for this purpose. 

The quaint wooden latches consisted of three parts, or members, the 
latch-bar, the catch, or keeper, and the staple. In some instances, where 
service from both sides of the door was required, these were supplemented 
with an important extra member in the form of a string fastened to the 
bar and passed outside through a hole above it in the door. By pulling 
this string the bar could be raised and the door opened from without; 
hence the familiar phrase, “‘the latch-string is out’’—see Plate 3. Later a 
permanent member, the crudely fashioned thumb-press, displaced the 
string, and to this in time was added the grasp. The combining of these 
two with the swivel-pin arrangement gave us the original swivel latch, as 
on Plate 4. 

“Wooden latches also were commonly used in New England in the early 
days and on the outside door the catch was generally made by notching 
out the door post so that the latch fell into this notch when the door was 
closed and was held in position by the shoulder of the notch. The wooden 
latches that have survived vary greatly in workmanship and proportion in 
accordance with the taste and skill of the men who made them.” —Note by 
G. F. Dow to “Notes on Wrought-Iron Latches” by H. C. Mercer, D.Sc., 
in Old Time New England for January, 1923. 

The simple wooden bolts, hinges, et al., which are shown on the plates 
in this chapter, need no special comment. For wooden door-pulls, see Plate 
115, the last plate in this volume. 


{17} 


EARLY AMERICAN WROUGHT IRON 


WROUGHT IRON DOOR HARDWARE 
LOCALLY MADE, OR IMPORTED FROM ENGLAND 


Whether forged by the colonial smith or the product of English fac- 
tories, nearly all of the early American hardware was hand-wrought, so it 
is dificult to judge from this general surface characteristic whether a speci- 
men was locally made or imported. There are little crudities, or slight 
modifications in the working out of the designs, however, that mark an ar- 
ticle at once as having been locally produced. 

It is reasonable to assume that in the more isolated and inland settle- 
ments much of the hardware was a local product. But as early as 1684, in 
the port districts, at least, hardware needs were evidently supplied by im- 
portations from England, judging from the ledger entries and advertise- 
ments of old colonial merchants. The accompanying specimen entries from 
the account-books of Paul Revere and the contemporary firm of Dawes & 
Coolidge (from the files of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, 
Mass.), for example, are interesting evidence not only of what was being 


haat emis hrs ay 


SYooo ats WoW ~ WwswQ 
e 
S 


tinge um 


From account-book of Dawes & Coolidge, Boston, Mass. 


{18 } 


a a os 


EARLY AMERICAN DOOR HARDWARE 


handled at that time by these importers, but also of the old names and 
prices of the articles. Indeed, if they were only a trifle more specific, or 
more of them could be examined, it might be established that many a piece 
of old wrought iron heretofore classed as one-hundred-per-cent American 
was “made in England”’ after all. 


Ss Y Lily 


lf’ to p47 a7 tty ; Pe: 
Deni eT aed en E 


CRN SEL FS aaa 
ies Veer ie a ne 
7, a 
6 Wo FL ~ ine - mame 
a 
Jaof 10 106 Jo 4 Obie dock She ee ee Ie 
90 = Js 


pd 
oul rca tomshatheta.! 6. 


6 ee ha res os ope 6 
- : on — Bs ° : 
OA ae LETTS 

Jot raw LY. L°Yd Io tHtob Ky 4b ee 


SIP Fer be: F 
(5% tlf Ss ie po: kp cid ed eben e. 
422 So fig” 10 VAG ret ; — a a 24/71 1g a 


From a page of Paul Revere’s ledger. 


[19 ] 


EARLY AMERICAN WROUGHT IRON 


It will be noted that Paul Revere enters “1 Iron Thumb Latch” and 
“1 Nob Latch” against the account of Dr. Lincoln, and ‘2 Ring Latches” 
as purchased by Dr. Hichborn. “Nob Latches” are also listed in the previ- 
ously cited advertisement of Ackley, and were probably of the type shown 
on Plate 99, Figure 1. The “Ring Latches” are doubtless what we now call 
knocker latches. Of course, the-names of Lincoln and Adams increase the 
general interest of these quaint pages, as do “‘ Dawes & Coolidge.” 


Other entries in Paul Revere’s ledger 


Dr. Simon Williard 


1784 
Item 
Aug 9 40 To Nails i=-§ 
Augig 42 ToH hinges 4 


Dr. Edward Glover 
1784 
Dec 23 
Item 
61 To Tongs & Shovel Chimney hooks & dipper 16 4 


Dr. Samuel Adams 


1786 
May 6 
Item 
117. To1 Door Lock 5 
To 4 pair HL hinges gc 
To 2 thumb latches ae | 
Dr. Gilbert Dench 
1787 
Sept.t 
Item 
95 To2 Latches Io 8 


[ 20 ] 


EARLY AMERICAN DOOR HARDWARE 


Dr. Benj. Hichborn Esq. 
1786 


Jan. 6 106 To2 Ring Latches % ia 
* y Iron Thumb latch I 
TAG “* 2 Ring Latches % 7 
“2 pair hinges % ig 

Nov. 6 126 “ “ “ dove tail hinges Dat 


WROUGHT IRON KNOCKERS 


The wrought-iron door-knocker never became as popular here as in 
European countries, though here and there some noteworthy examples are 
still to be found. ‘Their production must have been a source of keen satis- 
faction to their creators, and the fact that they have been so eagerly sought 
for by collectors and so prized by their present fortunate owners is warrant 
enough for their intrinsic value and artistic worth. 

The English, French, and Italian specimens included in the illustrations 
for this chapter are eloquent proofs of the foreign inspiration of the Amer- 
ican examples, the French lines of those from New Orleans in particular be- 
ing readily discernible. Note the delicacy of the chasing and the nice 
sense of proportion in these designs. There is a refinement about them 
almost out of keeping with the sturdy metal of which they are made. 

The knocker from the cloister at Ephrata, Pa., is a good example of the 
religious simplicity of taste and the stolid utilitarian proclivities of the 
early German Palatinate settlers in the domain of William Penn. Some- 
what similar in design but lighter in construction is the knocker on the 
door of the old Dutch house in West Hurley, near Kingston, N. Y. Or if 
one prefers a little more grace and delicacy in design there is one from 
Massachusetts that is sure to please. 


KNOCKER LATCHES 


The knocker latch, as its name implies, is a combination door-knocker 
and latch, serving both purposes equally well. It is a clever device of sim- 
ple construction, probably the invention of some unknown practically 
minded craftsman of the Middle Ages. Knocker latches are found in vari- 
ous forms in England, Holland, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, 
and other European countries. 

There seem to have been but two types of this ingenious latch used in the 


{ 21 } 


EARLY AMERICAN WROUGHT IRON 


American colonies, and for means of identification we designate the one as 
the New England type and the other as the Dutch type. Strange as it 
may seem, we have never found a latch of the Dutch type in New England, 
but the New England type is occasionally met with in the other colonies. 


New England Type 


In both types the handle-grasps are similar in general form to those of a 
regular knocker, but instead of being firmly secured to the door in the usual 
manner, the grasp is suspended from the “eye”’ of a staple or pin, the ends 
of which have passed through both escutcheon plate and door. These 
staple ends are then thrust through a square hole in the bar at its axis and 
firmly attached to it by clinching. Thus by raising the knocker-grasp and 
giving it a turn to the right or left, the bar is released from the catch or 
keeper. The New England knocker latch is constructed in this way. 


Dutch Type 


The Dutch knocker latch is similar in general construction to the fore- 
going one but has an additional member, the cam. In this type of latch, 
the ends of the staple supporting the grasp are clinched to the cam instead 
of being secured directly to the bar itself. The same action of the grasp, a 
raise and turn, thrusts the cam against the bar and releases it from the 
catch or keeper as effectively as the thumb-press in the ordinary latch. The 
placement of the grasp and cam being much closer to the catch, the bar is 
released with less effort than is the case with the New England type—a de- 
cided improvement, particularly when adverse weather conditions tighten 
the door. 

These cams are found with both double and single action. The earlier 
forms have a single shank and work but one way, while the later ones have 
two shanks, the square-holed axis anchorage being centered, allowing either 
a left or a right hand turn for releasing the bar. 

The earliest-known specimen of the New England type is on the “In- 
dian Door,” dated 1698, in the museum of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial 
Association at Deerfield, Mass. See Plate 16, Figures 1 and 2. The knocker 


latches on the restored Paul Revere House in Boston and those on the House ~ 


of Seven Gables in Salem, Mass., are replicas of this particular latch. A 
later and excellent specimen of this sort is on the door of the Balch House 
of Groveland, Mass., dated 1728, and now in the possession of the Haver- 
hill Historical Society. See Plate 17. 


{ 22} 


ee 


emg + Sele | 


EARLY AMERICAN DOOR HARDWARE 


The Dutch or cam knocker latches are common to nearly all the old 


‘ Dutch houses of New York and New Jersey. They are still to be found in 


good working order in the counties bordering the Hudson River and along 
the Mohawk Valley. In Scotia, N. Y.,* an excellent example of this type 
has been in use since 1658, and there is one in an old house in Greene County, 
N. Y., the early part of which, the owners claim, was built before 1686. 


GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF A WROUGHT IRON DOOR-LATCH 


The ordinary door-latch is made up of two main groups, the front-latch 
group on one side of the door and the back-latch group on the reverse side. 
The front latch includes the handle or grasp, the escutcheon in some form 
depending on the type of latch, and the thumb-press or similar device for 
releasing the bar. The back latch consists of the bar (with pin serving as 
pivot for it), the staple, the catch, and the lift end of the thumb-press device. 

The handle is usually bowed and joined to an escutcheon plate. 

The thumb-press is round or ovate in form, generally flat but sometimes 
saucered, and so arranged that a downward thrust of the thumb releases the 
bar. The thumb-press is inserted through a hole mortised in the escutcheon 
plate. Usually the thumb-press shank was split horizontally for a short 
distance back of the plate, and the barb thus formed was bent down against 
the plate to keep it securely in place. But sometimes a dowel-pin was in- 
serted, and occasionally a primitive cog arrangement (see Plate 93) where 
the mortise was cut large enough to permit the placing of the thumb-press 
in position; then an ingenious swivel rest was pushed back and secured. 
The fully developed swivel type of latch, made by welding and shaping a 
swivel joint to the base of the upper cusp and just above the hand-grasp, is 
more sophisticated but lacks the quaint charm of the more primitive ar- 
rangements. 

The latch-bars of the ordinary type were generally plain, though many 
of the early smiths decorated them with incised lines and sometimes shaped 
the grasp end in some practical form. This shaped grasp end of the bar is 
particularly characteristic of those fashioned by the Pennsylvania German 
workers. 

The staple, too, though usually plain, was in many instances decorated 
to match the bar and sometimes backed with an escutcheon plate. 

While in the main the catch, or keeper, as some prefer to call 


*In 1713 Major Glen built a new stone house, from materials largely supplied from the old (1658). “The 
massive double ‘Dutch’ door was brought.from the lower and older house.”” From “More Colonial Homesteads,”’ 


by Marion Harland, pp. 169-179. 
{ 23 ] 


EARLY AMERICAN WROUGHT IRON 


it, was triangular in form, it is also found with various styles of brace sup- 

ports terminating in finials decorated to harmonize with other members of 

the latch group. : . 
“TYPES OF WROUGHT IRON LATCHES 


The wooden latches were superseded as soon as practicable by fe ‘ 
made of wrought iron when, as stated previously, bog ore enough w : 
locally found to make their manufacture feasible, or when trading relatic 
were sufficiently well established to permit of their importation from 
mother country. y 

There are, roughly speaking, about four distinct types or kinds ae e 
iron latches, and we have classified them in the following order: k 
Latch, Escutcheon Lift, Suffolk, and Norfolk. They are arranged 
venience, in so far as it has been found practicable to do so, into g 
cording to locality, i. ¢., from the States whence they came. . 

This grouping is rather vexing, for obvious reasons. To quote _ 
Frederick Kelly: ‘According to tradition, a considerable amount 
ous sorts of hardware was turned out by individual craftsmen who 
at their own forges in different localities. This usage may largely 
for the broad diversity of forms in which certain articles appear. 
their general lack of similarity, it is somewhat difficult to make 
groups of the types of latches, hinges, and other products, and 
fication can be accomplished only in a broad way.” From this 
it is apparent that an occasional overlapping or seeming repetition is SC 
avoidable in any effort to cover the subject as fully as possible, 


ESCUTCHEON-LIFT LATCHES 
The most unique, and probably the rarest, of the early Ameri 

is the escutcheon-lift type. As far as is at present known, there 
specimens of these latches in existence in this country, and one 
the museum of the Bucks County Historical Sa at Doyl 
See Plate 21. 
For some time Dr. Henry Mercer, curator of chin museum, 
as to the origin of latches of this yes But an ewe in FE 


apparent. See Plate 23, Fig. 1. 


[24 } 


EARLY AMERICAN DOOR HARDWARE 


By way of further proof of the English origin of these odd latches, another 
member of the Bucks County Historical Society, Mr. Frank K. Swain, of 
Doylestown, Pa., on a recent trip abroad unearthed six specimens of sim- 
ilar type on very old buildings in England. Strangely enough, they were for 
the most part on churches or the adjoining residences of the clergy. 

The escutcheon-lift device is ingenious in its construction, to say the 
least, for it has neither swivel nor thumb-press, the escutcheon itself per- 
forming their function by means of a slide action. The two spiral-turned 
ends of the escutcheon plate form the real grasp, while the lift proper is a 
spike which is welded to the center of the plate. To work the latch it is 
only necessary to take hold of either the upper or lower end of the escutcheon 
plate and raise it. The oblong slots allow a free play up and down in the 
sliding space, while the squared sides of the twisted hand-grasp serve to keep 
the plate in its proper place. This twisted handle has square-pointed spike 
ends which, after passing through the apertures of the escutcheon, are 
clinched on the other side of the door. A sliding space for the lift spike nat- 
urally has to be cut through the door, as shown in the sectional illustration in 
Figure 3, Plates 21 and 22. The back-latch action is similar to all other 
latches. 

SUFFOLK LATCHES 

The Suffolk latch, so designated in “English Metal Work by Wm. 
Twopeny,” is a cusp type, consisting of an upper and lower cusp or plate 
joined together by a central grasp or handle. In some cases the latch may 
be fashioned from a single bar of iron, the ends of which are forged into 
shapely escutcheons and the grasp rounded or formed to suit the fancy of 
the worker. In the earlier forms, the thumb-press or bar lift is thrust 
through the upper cusp, being kept in position by a slit tongue piece in lieu 
of a swivel. In the later or swivel form, the thumb-press is held in place 
by a neck-shaped swivel between the base of the upper cusp and the grasp. 

The earlier latches are generally quite simple in design, and as a rule the 
pattern of the upper cusp is repeated inversely in the lower. In some cases, 
however, there are individual designs for each, while others have but a sin- 
gle or dominating upper cusp, the lower end of the grasp penetrating the 
door and clinched on the other side. This type of Suffolk latch is common 
enough in Europe, but, while a very practical pattern, seems not to have 
met with popular favor outside of certain sections of Pennsylvania. 

The Arrow-head, the Ball and Spear, the Bean, the Swordfish, the Tulip, 
and the Heart patterns were probably the most popular of their day. 


{ 25 | 


EARLY AMERICAN WROUGHT IRON 


The Arrow-head type is common to nearly all of the early colonies here 
settled by the English. Some, no doubt, were imported, those locally made 
usually being cruder and with less of the factory look. Deerfield, Mass., 
possesses many that are still in service on the doors to which they were 
originally fastened more than two centuries ago. Some of these are plain, 
others have the notched or chamfered edges typical of their kind. 

According to our observation, the Arrow-head and Tulip, or Pear-shaped, 
patterns are more frequently found in central New England and eastern 
New York than in other localities. But occasionally they are met with in 
Virginia, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. 

The Bean type, so called owing to the cusps resembling the shape of the 
ordinary Lima bean, is the commonest of all early wrought-iron latches. 
It was mostly a factory production, hand-made, it is true, records showing 
that large quantities of English make were imported here, particularly after 
the close of the Revolutionary War. They were made up in standard sizes, 
the average being about six inches. Some few of this type were locally 


made, deviating somewhat in size and decoration and minor details from the 


imported ones. 

Travelers in the Old World in going from one country to another are soon 
impressed by the distinct differences in national styles of architecture. At 
the border line there is generally a blending of the styles characteristic of the 
two countries, but as one leaves the border a growing difference becomes 
evident, and when the center of the country is reached there is a decided 
contrast. So in a smaller and more intimate way is the influence of a par- 
ticular local craftsman manifested, and the more masterful and creative 
his mind the wider the sphere he dominates. 


There is a fascination in tracing such an influence, as for exaninien in the 


Suffolk latch so prevalent in the Housatonic Valley in Connecticut. These 
latches, with their ornamental tulip and lance-head cusps, are charming in 


design and are easily identified, for they have a “Housatonic look.” One — 


cannot help feeling that they are the creation of one master artizan, and 
wondering who he was and where he plied his trade. 

The Connecticut Valley type also seems to emanate from a common 
center near East Haddam. In this vicinity are to be found the largest and 
most ornate of this particular type of latch, and it is here that the highest 
achievement of New England’s latch artistry was attained. There is a 
group of three, heroic in size, on the doors of the Congregational Church at 
Little Haddam, Conn., built in 1794, the largest of them measuring nearly 


[ 26 } 


EARLY AMERICAN DOOR HARDWARE 


40” over all, the other two being somewhat smaller. We know of no other 
latches of the period that quite approach them for size and beauty. The 
hinges, too, on these same doors are massive and unique in their way, and 
well worth mention. See Plates 45 and 46. 

Eastern Connecticut also furnishes us with the swordfish type of Suf- 
folk latch, a good illustration of which is that now on the door of the school- 
house (restored) where Nathan Hale taught in New London. The grasp 
is rounded, the circular cusps surmounted by a chamfered or serrated cres- 
cent from which tapers a slender straight finial chased with a species of egg 
and dart motif. The thumb-press of this type is usually ornamented with a 
shell-like pattern, frequently having an incised circle in the center with lines 
radiating to the escalloped edge. In those of a later period the nail-heads 
follow a like decorative treatment, while on the back latch or bar piece it- 
self the same ornamental scheme is followed. The latch on the Pocotopaug 
Tavern in East Hampton, Conn., said to date from about 1812, is an excel- 
lent example of this kind. 

Another distinctive type of Suffolk latch is that of the single upper cusp 
which is fashioned from or welded to the upper end of the grasp. The grasps 
vary, being rounded or flat in shape, while the lower end is tapered to a 
sharp point which when thrust through the door is clinched in the same way 
as the nail ends fastening the cusp above it. 

It is strange that this practical form of latch was not more generally 
used in the colonies, for it is simpler in construction, requires much less 
material, and is quite as secure in its fastening as the other type. Yet with 
these apparent points in its favor it still is rarely met with in the colonies 
outside of Pennsylvania, though quite common in some parts of Europe. 


' 


NORFOLK LATCHES 


Norfolk latches are spoken of in Pennsylvania hardware-store books of 
the early nineteenth century and are casually referred to as such in “English 
Metal Work,” by William Twopeny, F.S. A., 1797-1873, edited by Lau- 
rence Binyon, under Figure XXXIV. While the early Norfolk latches were 
all hand-made, most of ours were a factory production imported from 
England in large quantities, as were the cusp latches of the bean type. It 
is doubtful whether they were very numerous here much before 1800. 
However, they became extremely popular and are common to many of our 
old houses, where they apparently replaced others for various reasons. 
These latches vary in size, the average being about 714 by 1% inches, and 


[27] 


EARLY AMERICAN WROUGHT IRON 


nearly all are swivel lifts. The back plates or escutcheons, to which shies 
handle-grasp is usually welded, are of rolled sheet i iron. In some early in- 


and are turn-clinched in the same manner as the ae that fan, the pla 
when screws were not used. These flat plates or escutcheons are t 
simple in form; plain, straight sides, sometimes with a raised edge, 
upper and lower ends frequently ornamented, having an opposite 
peating design. In some of later mianuisabase these upper and lo 
signs were die-cut with a single blow, a much more economic use of 

Occasionally on an outer door we find a larger sized latch o 
probably locally made, with a more elaborate theme of pines: 


exceptional. a 
The grasps of these Norfolk latches are of varied designs and 
of flat, half-round, or round bar iron, some ges as shay 


either swage-welded to the center or formed by two oe more » 
In most of the later patterns a small fillet of pewter applies at t 
the grasp is characteristic. Re. 
The early swivel lifts of these Jatches had straight shank ends 
round thumb-press, but shortly after 1800-10 they appear with ¢ 
well as straight lift ends, the thumb-press being slightly dished 
The swivel supports consist of two roughly cut pieces of 
terial as the escutcheon plate thrust through and welded to the 
lift aperture, the shaped ends of which protrude slightly on the 
plate. See Plate go. ey 
After 1825 the bar and the catch, or keeper, have escutcheon 
tached. The bar itself sometimes has w knob-grasp, while the st 
virtually a staple plate, being fastened with nail or screws in lieu ) 
pointed ends. 
The Norfolk type practically superseded all other forms of | 
latches, yielding this supremacy finally with the advent of nee 1 
patent cast-iron latch in 1840, See Plate 92. aie 


DEVELOPMENT OF LIFTS AND BARS 


The development of the lift end of the thumb-press has be 
of some little discussion among those interested, especially in its rele 
the dating of old houses on which these early latches are found. _ 


{ 28 } 


EARLY AMERICAN DOOR HARDWARE 


Dr. Henry C. Mercer, curator of the Bucks County Historical Society 
Museum in Doylestown, Pa., in his brochure on the dating of old houses, 
maintained that few if any latches in our colonies had curved lifts before 
1776. His deductions were based on the careful examination of over one 
hundred and twenty houses in Pennsylvania. In fact, it was found that 
curved lifts were rare indeed in that locality before 1800. 

Another contended that all of the early latches had curved lifts, the 
niggardly ends of the straight lifts being but the result of the economies of 
sharp competition, due to the rivalry of British manufacturers who sold us 
these hand-wrought, factory-made latches in large quantities when our 
trade revival began with Great Britain after the peace of 1783. 

An elderly descendant of one of New Jersey’s first settlers advanced still 
another theory for the use of the straight lift, namely, that the long curved 
lift ends had a tendency to catch and tear the ample and ofttimes handsome 
silk skirts or expensive lace sleeve-frills of the colonial dames, and were there- 
fore cut down. ‘This was probably in any case one of the contributing fac- 
tors to the final downfall of the latch when it yielded its supremacy to the 
lock. 

These discussions serve to remind us of the difficulty of getting exact 
data on a matter of this sort, and how frequently one is compelled to set 
aside what seemed only a moment before to be conclusive evidence in es- 
tablishing a fact. 

Many of the earlier American latch-lifts were straight, the short inner 
ends sometimes protruding but half an inch or so, scarcely long enough for 
a proper grasp in the effort to release the bar from its catch, or keeper. 
There being at the time no knob or other device on the bar to aid in this 
operation, our forebears soon found that to open a weather-swollen door 
with so scanty a hold was an almost impossible task. Hence the develop- 
ment of these various inside lift ends, from the slightly curved or shapely 
rounded ones to the lengthy and attenuated rat-tail ends. Some of the 
latter types measured about eight or nine inches, as for instance those on 
the doors of the church at Little Haddam, Conn., and various others shown 
in the illustrations. 

This logical development, it seems reasonable to assume, was but natural 
in localities where the start was made with the straight scanty lift. But 
the fact remains that many of the old latches had curved lifts. And this 
is true both in the colonies and abroad, for there are old latches with both 
types of lift in many of the European countries as well as in America. 


{ 29 |} 


EARLY AMERICAN WROUGHT IRON 


So it is quite evident that the blacksmith, when making latches, followed 
local custom unless overruled by the demands of his client. Hence we find 
the straight lift in the ascendant in one locality, while in others the curved 
lift seems to have been the more popular. 

The bar, too, came in for its share of improvement, at first just by an 
added thickness of material welded-on at the catch end. Later this end was 
given an outward thrust or bend to insure a better grasp. Then came the 
fashioned knob, either the shapely welded turnover of the Moravian speci- 
mens, or a similar device with a spiral end. And, finally, there is a full- 
fledged grasp like the one on the bar of the Whittier House latch at Haver- 
hill, Mass. 


LATCH-LOCKS 


The transition from latch to lock is first indicated by the appearance of 
the additional simple escutcheon plate (e. g., Figure 1, Plate 98) to which the 
ordinary members of the back latch are attached. Later these plates as- 
sume a more ornamental form. Of the designs of these escutcheon plates 
J. A. Gotch, R. I. A., in his “Architecture of the Renaissance in England,” 
writes: ‘‘It will be noticed that the whole of the ornament, although in 
some cases it looks rich, is in reality obtained by the simplest means, which 
consist in the main of cutting a thin plate of metal into a variety of shapes; 
there is hardly any modeling about it. This method is characteristic of most 
of the ironwork of the time; it was only seldom that modeled ornament was 
indulged in... .” 

Following this plate and secured to it comes another new member, a 
simple spring attachment arranged to press against the bar, as shown in 
Figure 1, plate 100. The spring is next connected with the staple (e. g., 
Figure 1 on Plate 99 and Figures 2, 3, and 7 on Plate 98 and the English 
and other European examples on Plate 99, Figures 3, 4, and 5), or adjusted 
in slightly different ways such as the Pennsylvania types on Plate 98 and the 
New England types on Plates 53, 54, and 55 illustrate. 

The cam, combined with a knob or a drop-handle, marks the next step in 
development. Then a bolt attached to the back plate appears. 

As these members of the back latch grow in number and become more 
complex we note a tendency to incase the various parts with protective 
plates, sometimes ornamental, till ultimately all are under cover. This 
transition is interestingly illustrated in Figure 2 on Plate 104, where the 
latch is incased but not the catch, and there is no bolt incorporated with the 


{ 30 } 


3 
i 


EARLY AMERICAN DOOR HARDWARE 


group. In Figure 2 on Plate 103, however, there is a bolt incased with the 
latch, the improvised catch being still exposed. 


LOCKS 


To just what extent locks were made here in the early days is not easily 
ascertained. It is our belief that they were mostly of foreign make, as in- 
deed many of them show by their markings. 

We have not ventured very deeply into this subject, but have chosen a 
few specimens to show the transition from the latch to the lock, illustrative 
in part at least of some of the simpler phases of this interesting development. 


From “‘Mechanick Exercises or the Doctrine of Handy Works,”’ by Joseph Moxon, 1688—London, England. 


Ficure 2. AAAA the main 
plate, BC the keyhole, EDE 
the top-hook, EE cross-wards, 
F the bolt, G the bolt-joe or 
bolt-nab, H the drawback spring, 
I the tumbler, K the pin of the 
tumbler, LL the staples. 


a ‘ 
Wit yaar 
UNE at 
an 
1% 
a 


Ficure 3. AAAA the cover-plate, B the pin, DCD the main-ward, DD cross-wards, 
E the step-ward or dap-ward. 


Ficure 4. Key imposed on Figure 2. A the pin-hole, B the step or dep-ward, C the 
hook-ward, D the middle or main cross-ward, EE the cross-wards, F the main- 
ward, GG cross-wards, H the shank, I the pot or bead, K the bow- 
ward, L the bow, BCDEEFGG the bit. 

Bolt of Figure 2 reversed. 


To do the subject full justice would require a volume by itself, and we heart- 
ily agree on this point with Moxon, when he says: 

“As there are Locks for several purposes as Street-door Locks, called 
Stock Locks, Chamber-door Locks, called Spring-Locks, Cupboard-Locks, 


{ 3: } 


in Locks, I Re in the ee and ebattirins ‘diets Wenn Goede Pe 
“But the contrivances being almost innumerable, according to ‘the 
ous fancies of Men, shall be referred to another time to disc ur 
shall now shew you the working of a Spring-Lock, which when yo 
how to do, your Fancy may play ‘with Inventions as you best like.” 
The accompanying illustrations, with his i interesting ex] 
will serve to give one an excellent idea ab the simple mec! 
early locks. : ? eek 


{ i ge 


is. we Pitney 3 yoatee rm. 
i ai , a. if =) ‘l 
deh at a i Rl ih oa Bie te Nia ‘ 
‘ 
\ 
i 
‘ 
; 

o * 

: i 
. s 


PLAT EY) 


OLD SMITH’S FORGE 


Sketch of an old forge still in the cellar of what was one 

Tavern—circa 1790—in Plainville, Conn., now the summer 
J. H. Kirkham, of New Britain, Conn. ae 
This quaint, sturdy blacksmithing equipment is in 
as if it had only recently ceased from active service. It stands 

but silent reminder of the days of stage-coach travel, when it 
importance that repairs and adjustments be made as quic 
between stop-overs. One can easily envision the s1 
anvil, his young apprentice pumping vigorously at t 
hostler watching each stroke on the white-hot me 
stirring on the floor of the eas overhead stron, 
the jovial spirits there. 
The old anvil and tool ba in the ¢ foreground are | 


fen mares 
”~ 
hy 
f 


emia 


Td 


ie sana nomen ALE eins a rs HOAEN 


aoa 


PLATE2 _ fe 
OLD ANVILS 7 


Ficure 1. Old Spanish anvil at Fort Marion, St. hates 
lieved to have been brought over in the sixteenth century when 
lowers of Ponce de Leon settled there. This anvil is reputed: tot 
est in the United States. 


Ficure 2. Early bicker-iron from the collection of the 
Historical Society, Doylestown, Pa. — if 


Ficure 3. Another eighteenth-century “ bickern”—1¢ ; 
high—owned by Mr. Newton L. Lockwood, Plainville, Conn. 


OF THE ANVIL 


“The re of a Black Smiths Asie I ane hens | in tk 
though it is sometimes made with a Pike or Bickern, or Beck-ir 
end of it, whose use I shall 
‘come to round hollow work. | 
very flat and smooth, wit 
hard, that a File will not 
when a File will not cut or r 
Plain A is called the Face: it 
upon a wooden Bik, that te 
steady and solid. ae 

“The Stake is a small. 
stands upon a broad Tron fc 


else it hath: a Strong Iron 
which Iron Spike is t 

Anvil of the Work-Bench not | 
office is to set Small Cold Work straight upon, or to C 
with the Cold Chissel, or Cold Punch. ae an 


tol 


PUATR2 
WOODEN LATCH, HINGE, AND BOLT 


Ficure 1. Original old wooden ‘string latch from Graeme] 
the home of Governor Keith (Pennsylvania’s first governor) 
Pa., now owned by Mr. Welsh Strawbridge, of Phil : 
tion of the old saying: “The latch-string is out.” A string 
bar runs through a hole in the door above it to the outside. - 
door one pulls this string, which releases the bar from the catch 
old nursery rhyme: “ Knock at the door, peep in. Draw the late 


Ficure 2. Wooden hinge from an old house in Connec 
quite common in its day on bedroom, cellar, and attic doors. 


Ficure 3. Wooden bolt from the Moravian “Sisters 
hem, Pa.—1742. These wooden bolts are still found 
generally on cupboard doors. : 


» inners 
aoe ee 


« 
3 as Se r = dime, 2h 
ss , ‘ h i“ ey “eas +o £4 SRR, sales e se = igsind hws 9 =~ 
ae of 7 henner fe ha x St eae MAT me te 5 ey eee = i : A « 
aiee 7 . ' / K . ; } ‘ Aa at > 
" ¥ io (aan A (i as A « Ra =) , or aa ¥ cas aa 
i ees . = 3 
A i ee 7 


Figure 1. Wooden swivel latch ace a stan in ee 
munity” House—1742—in Bethlehem, Pa. | 

This later form of latch illustrates the common 
early settlers of doing the best they could with the 


is of native oak, pegs, cotter-pin, and all. is 3 
Ficure 2. Back view of latch above. 


Figure 3. Wooden shutter-bar os the Johnson 
mantown, Pa. 


eget 


at ner ema * 


ar SP ee RRR ND Ng ee POETS ie RA a tN ee aN 


DO te te ee 
- 


. aes) 5 it pao 


¥ 


Cpe I, ete ae tet 8 ACETATE alpere 


PLATE £ 
WOODEN LATCH ES—SWIVEL 


These wooden incor are excellent examples of f Yankee ; 
ity. They are of Norfolk type and probabl roe 
signs, and are much more elaborate and sop isticated 
preceiing plate. Both are in the penidinie the: E 
ewport, R. I. 


Ficure 1. From the Nine. Wasechioo aie ie 
mouth, R. I. Measures 634” over all.  Sancered: 3 
end. 


Ficures 1b, c, d, and e. Back-latch group of Fig 
lift end, grasp end with wedge. ve 


Ficure 2. From the Wm. Reed House) Rhode ; a 
Figures 2b,c,d. Back-latch group of Figure 2. Bk 


AE ae 


PLATE 6 
KNOCKERS AND KNOCKER LATCHES 


Ficure 1. Door-knocker from the old Dutch Van I 
early seas fies in West sah N. Ae eeu. 


FicureE 2. 4 knocker bck of Paiuiieee G m: an n cc 
izing the handle-grasp for knocker purposes by means 0 
top and a welded-slug rapper at the base of the ; | 
is in the collection of Mrs. J. Insley Bit of Tuxedo 1 


latch is 12’’ over all. 


Ficure 3. Another novel arrangement of latch a 
tion. In this case the grasp has been pin- 
cusp, thus permitting the use of the pendant 
rapping against the door. This latch poses as 
New York City office rather more: for. novelty th 
We have been unable to ferret out its origin, ; 
uniqueness than for aa jee to abe or spades 


PLATE 9h ae 


KNOCKERS 


Ficure 1. This knocker, from the main. : doar of the old 
Cloister—circa 1750—at Ephrata, Pa., is a fair specimen of the 5 
early German craftsmen who settled in Lebanon unt at | 
Almost severe in form, it follows closely the rugged lines of t 
mother country, even as to the ornamental escutcheon and 
The restraint of its decoration and its simplicity give it 
missing in many a more modern specimen. See similar as C 
Plate 9. 


Ficure 2. An old English knocker of ee 2 Knight's s a 
enteenth century—from one of the Wells Cathedral group : ary We 


Ficure 3. An early American knocker of similar 
long, from the Bowne House—1661—Flushing, Long Islan, 
simpler in form than Figure 2, in keeping wit "the tastes o 
Quaker owner, John Bowne, who did and suffered so much | 
William Penn and George Fox were apeen by ibis i 


[ 46 } 


PLATE 8 


KNOCKERS 


Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 are from the collection of Mr. W. E, aa ‘ 
York City, and are excellent examples of the possibilities of iron 
manipulated by the hand of the skilled artisan. Some of them « 
the old French quarter in New Orleans, La. Whether they were mai 
or abroad it is difficult at this late date to determine, but it is well 
that there were iron-workers in the Vieux Carré who were capable < 
them, and who would intuitively follow the traditional Latin c 
their designs. One has only to compare these with others on this 
ceeding plates to be convinced of their foreign inspiration, in any ca 


Ficure 1. From New Orleans, La., and measuring 6 yy! 
cutcheon, 5”, Almost identical in design with the French one in Fi 
from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England. 
tion of the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial 
knocker said to be of Swedish origin, which is Mark re 6 


ioe 


cution. 


Figure 2. From Falmouth, Mass., and measuring a é 
high. This dainty ware se closely follows i its for C 


Ficure 3. Measures 44 ” wide by 3y4" high and is Pipher 


wrought. 


Ficure 4. From New Gletne La., and penal ss 634" 
high. Resembles very ey Figure Son oo , side ( 


Ficure 6. A sixteenth-century ety specimen from Ii 
Albert Museum in London, Papen the = 


Coe 


: PLATE one 
KNOCKERS AND KNOCKER zarcH 


comparison, to pina how losly sae many of fthese peo 
found here in America. . 


Ficure 1. From old aca bite in Rome, Italy. 
the knocker on Plate 6, aon New York (Figure ee 


Ficure 2. Fine old sixteenth-century 
land. 1134” over all. 


FIGURE 3. Fighteenth-century knocker, Nimes, ; 


Ficures 4 and 6. Two Italian knockers. Late | 
nineteenth centuries, from Venice, Italy. Figure 6, 


Ficure 5. Old French knocker latch, Lyons, : 


os eee Pee “ey Se ee ee ee 2 > ha ae. i | . ow = 
<9 e f vee — - ot > ~ * pals be Se bet ‘ 
= E « 


PLATE 10 ee 
KNOCKERS 


Ficure 1. Florence, Italy. 


Ficure 2. A well-fashioned knocks on os fae Fee 
Mr. Louis Hurd, Middle Haddam, Conn. He was assured t that. 
nally came from an old house in lower Vermont, 1 not Villian 
Mass. It is of simple and practical design, quite a contrast to. 
panying ornate European types on this plate, and ad pri 
early-nineteenth-century doorway it ROW, adorns. — 


FicurE 3. Venice, Italy. 
Ficure 4. Lyons, France. 


Ficure 5. Florence, Italy. aR 
Ficure 6. St. Thomas ate Canterbury 


ee 
| 
a9 Te 


= Saye 


Pianeta lors ial: hae Sate 


Rate Oe ann tee eg EY 


agli ease 


- As 


J pn fue 
; a 
i . —— 


ere te Pee en De ee ay a op oe or iat 


PLATE. 2 Ie 


EUROPEAN ROCESS AND KNOCKER LATCHES 


Ficure 1. Knocker latch ae Lewes, England—seveni 
Shows heart decoration, the favorite pes of he ae 
Pennsylvania. 


Ficure 2. Ashford, Pagan double-cam knocker 
or right. (See text, page 22.) #8 


FicureE 3. From old paris house, Bone. let, 


Ficure 4. Church of St. John the esesbeece sev 
Lewes, England. (See Plate 18, knocker on Silliman Hous 
for its American counterpart, similar even in the pee: 
escutcheon plate.) 


PLATE ‘12 
KNOCKERS 


Ficure 1. From Funchal, Madeira. see similat Pea , 
England on Plate 11, Figure 4, and from America on Plate 1 


Ficures 2, 3, and 4. Also from Madeira, and similar in 
one from the old cloister at Ephrata, Pa. (Plate eet 
Deusen House (Plate abs Here in this a galan ase = 


Ficure 5. A Scotch hee owned by Mr. Da] Ri 
Glasgow, Scotland, and originally on Kellie Castle, coun | 
device, so far as we have been able to ascertain, is a peculiarly 
invention and is rarely found outside of the Scottish domain. 
in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and another in 
of Oxford University. Taking hold of the “pin” and 
down the twisted handle-grasp produces a racket more than 
notify those within that a caller is at the door. There is 
one of these “knockers” may come to ligh t in the ee 2 
where many Scotchmen settled in the early days, so S| 
included to aid in identification and aa of hee | 


» 


eee ae ee | 


PLATE 13_ 


DUTCH KNOCKER LATCH—NEW YORK 


Ficure 1. Old Dutch knocker latch from “Washington’ a 
ters,” at Newburgh, N. Y.—1696; rebuilt 1770. This latch, as ts 
what similar one on the east door,'was probably put in place when 
was first built—1696—nearly all the Dutch houses of this per: 
having latches of this kind. The “father of his country” » 
used these latches, for here he established his headquarters ey 
weary months at the close of the struggle for independence. _ 


Ficure 2. Sectional illustration. Raising the knocker-grasp 
ing it a turn to right or left releases the bar from the catch or 


Ficure 3. Back view, showing cam in the act of lifting 
bar j just above cam note small protruding ee that hee be 
aid in lifting the bar. bit 


We have seen this simple type of Krocker ih in En 
others using the same principle, but attached to an ornamer 
plate and having the added spring device, such as those shown « 
There is an excellent example of this latter type on the door of 
House— 1602—Oxfordshire, England, illustrated in Sa fe 
Renaissance in England,” by J. A. Gotch. | 


[58] 


PLATE 14 


DUTCH ENOCEES LATCHES—NEW YORK 


- Ficure t. Knocker anh from the old Bronk Hiss } 
N. Y. This house was built in 1663 and added to in 1738. 
upright and cross-bar braces. Lower half-door has a in ! 
out lift attachment. 


Ficure 2. Back-latch group of Figure 1. 934” over all. 


Ficure 3. Latch on inner door of the Van Alen Hot se 
derhook, N. Y. Pendant grasp is smaller and ‘more: ef: 
is 314" ON ; 


Ficure 4. Bar of ee with tebe: line d je : 
95%" over all. (See Plate 132, igure 4, and also Plate 1: 
of hardware on plain and divided Dutch door.) 


5 


Ey Per perme 
4 ; 2 jee Clit i é 435 > 


PLATE 15 ee. 
DUTCH KNOCKER LATCHES OF NEW YORK AND NEW 


A group of early Dutch knocker latches of similar type, s 
differences in the form of their pendant hand-grasps and varied 
of escutcheon plates, the heart bie ti and diamond pattern” of 
designs of that period. ae 

All these latches have simple bars, some of hice have 
oration, and all of them have the extra cam member as ex] 
troduction. 


Ficure 1. Knocker latch from ; an old Dutch Rot aE SE 
Ficure 2. Is still in use at Haworth, Bergen County, N 
Ficure 3. Late seventeenth-century latch from West | 
FicuRE 4. Late seventeenth-century latch from Woodric 


Ficure 5. Early saa spor from 
N. Y. 


Ficure 6. Early cghteenth-century specimen fom New Itz 


‘[o2} 


PLATE 16 
NEW ENGLAND KNOCKER LATCH ae 
Ficure 1. Knocker latch of New England type on the door of th 


sign John Sheldon House—1698—now in museum of tl 
Memorial Association, Deerfield, Mass. This house was attacked 

Indjans in the bloody massacre of Deerfield Valley in 1704. They cut a 
in the door through which they shot and killed the ensign’s brave ' 
door since then being known as the “Indian Door.”’ (See Plate 124, F 
2 and 2a.) ; a rs aa 


Ficure 2. The bar—11” long—covered with a pattern of 
cised lines, the staple being notched above and below. The catch 
has the appearance of having had a supporting brace which has b 
off. For further discussion of this patie, see description of 
Plate 94. . nice 


Ficures 3 and 4. Front latch (3) and back latch (4) ft 
chapel of Sto. Cristo de los Dolores, Madrid, Spain—eighteent 
The front turn-button device is connected directly with the axis 
bar so that it works on the same principle as the knocker latch 
a turn of button or handle-grasp raising or lowering the bar in 
For development of this turn-button idea into knobs and han 
101. | 


{ 64 } 


PLATE 17 
NEW ENGLAND KNOCKER LATCH 


Ficure 1. With the possible exception of the kee 
-liman House at Fairfield, Conn. (see Plate 18), this is the 1 
its kind we have found in New England. It adorned. the 
House in Groveland, Mass., dated 1728, and now rey in 
the Haverhill Historical Society at Haverhill, Mass. 
is ornamented with a deeply incised wave-line design, and 
cular rapper. The square escutcheon plate is given’ rouch « 
the corners and around the nail-heads. 


Figure 2. The bar is not only partly Oe, 
is decorated with a circle-and-crescent design. The ca 


Ficure 3. Sectional view of latch. 


PLATE ae 


NEW ENGLAND KNOCKER LATCH 


Ficure 1. The knocker latch of the Sil lan. 
Fairfield, Conn. It resembles very closely those f 
counties of England (see latch on church of St. John t 
England, Plate 11, Figure 4), though the Silliman, la 
somer of the two, for more care has been given to its: d 


Ficure 2. The  bar—9 wa long—is plain « and reenf 
escutcheon plate, 3x 3’’.. The brace of the catch 
of artistry by the extra bend. Staple peels Rr 


Ficure 3. Braced catch; sectional v view. 


PLATE 19 


NEW ENGLAND KNOCKER LATCH 


plan A. and Helen ee say ee entire janes on which it 
originally from an old house in Essex, Conn. R: 

The latch is probably of early eighteenth century, ‘he 
bar resembling very closely those of that period. Its rathe u 
and heft attract the eye. Grasp measures a - oy". Me 


Ficure 2. This rugged bar would surely. need a pro 
action on the bare wood would soon interfere with its effectiv 
can readily understand after observing the wearing caused se 
of bar on the door of the Balch Piss Plate Mies auth 


*The Acadian House is said to have saltaved some at dceaaae 
their homes in Canada by the British during the French and Indian ed in 


a See 


pe 
a) 
O09 
ra 
oO 
— 
Doel 


PLATE 20° | 
NEW ENGLAND KNOCKER LATCH FROM PENNS 


Fiduse 1 A knocker lateh of She Wem England 
Cadwalader House—1728—in Yardley, Pa. For someun 
of this type are not very often found in Pennsylvania, t 


in England, the land of Penn’s birth. Escutcheon, ay". . 


Ficure 2. The bar is plain, save for the fashioned q ju 
capping the axis end. Staple and catch also plain. ee 


Note.—Another latch of similar type is on one of the , itb 
mill) belonging to the Cadwalader estate. ee 7 


- vi th . 
che hae z 


Ge RE ee Cy eee a Ge fe ee eee 


PLATE 21 ie 
ESCUTCHEON LIFT LATCHES 


Ficure 1. This escutcheon lift latch, now in the museti 
County Historical Society at Dovescowas Pa., was taken ; 
bride-Chapman House near there. It was on the cella: 
1776, and placed on the rebuilt house after a fire in 1809. 
twisted handle is firmly clinched to the door, the latc 
or lowering the escutcheon plate—see Figure 3 on 
Two of the three disks of this simple escutcheon are 
riveted to the center disk. The upper and lower | 
turn for use as a grasp. Size over ally 9. sf 


Ficure 2. The bar, tests and catch 3 are ni i 


FIGURE 3. Sectional view. 
. 


; ae A ae. oe ee © 
ft, rt ee 


PLATE 22 | 
BSCUTCHEON LIFT LATCHES ie re 


Ficure 1. From the Cadwalader House, dated 172 
This latch is somewhat more ornate than that of the k 
House and a trifle smaller, measuring but ie he 
very similar, but wend instead of Sover 


line. The staple is plain and a opt nae oe Ha th 
supporting brace terminating in the form of a heart. __ 


Ficure 3. Sectional view, showing Position ve of hand 
escutcheon grasp and release the bar. | ; 


Fig. 3 


9 ofr wy - Fat war ae = hs at Ne wt Per 
1 4 , 


PLATE 23 _ 
ESCUTCHEON LIFT LATCHES 
Ficure 1. A copy of Plate go—loose bar | 


Northumberland—from “English Metal Work,” by eee o} 
1797-1873, with a preface by Laurence Binyon. 


Ficure 2. From the old mill—early nites centu 
walader estate at Yardley, Pa. The escutcheon is of 
measuring 8” over all, the shapely and slightly beveled h 
from the twisted ones on the other specimens of this type 


Figure 2a. Back-latch group. ‘Bar, seed long. a 
large, 5’’ over all. | 


Figure 3. On the old stone house, Doyletnnas » bi 
Jonathan Worthington, and now owned by 0 EF. hee rai 


lift is 734” x 156”. 

Ficure 3a. Bar is 1034” long and ee spidedie of 
made, for it has the bashed “dog ears’’ so typical of 
The catch with its twisted brace i is 31K" mace i, 


PLATE 24 


EARLY NORFOLK LATCHES—MASSACHUSETTS 


Ficure 1. This rare Norfolk latch, measuring about 9 over 
from the interesting old Abraham Browne House—1663— 
Mass., one of the houses owned by the Society for the Preserv 
England Antiquities. The handle-grasp of this latch is missin 
latches of the same kind in this house (possibly replicas) have grasps 
ing the form suggested in outline at the left. Grasps on latches of 
and period, both in this country and abroad, are, however, usuz 
form such as those on Plate 25, Figure 1, or Plate o82—_. 


Ficure 2. The back latch has a shapely seven-inch bar, de 
a simple pattern. Note extra nubbin on the axis end, which 
namental escutcheon, 21” across, and harmonizing with 
of the front latch. This nubbin or square of extra Pepebe 
put on by the early smiths to strengthen a weak place. It is: 
this point on bars and was also used on hinges for a similar 
Plates 144 and 145.) The thumb-press on this latch has S. L. 
scanty one. Braced catch is very thin. Staple plain. Maes 


Ficure 3. Shows the original plain batten door to w which this 
attached. This door has shadow molding and quaint hinge 
drawings-of which may be found on Plate 147, is i. pie 


[ 80 } : 


SN 5 iy eine a | fic Re - 
“4 
} 


> 
fa” AIA Re eit one Fe PER tases 
dlr See Ss Sc wi 


SS CIOL Yc EI EP ae 


r 


-s tar Th Meat fe + ms bee a eed “ Ee 5 we % Me Pe | 
ria te 


Roe ‘ a A sek Ge 


PLATE 2 ae 
EARLY NORFOLK LATCHES 


Ficure 1. An early and very fine specimen of Norfolk ee fr 
William Judson House in Stratford, Conn., built in 1723. The 
pattern seems almost more suited for treatment in brass than 
quite in advance of its time so far as structural delicacy i is conc 
the latch has all the strength that is necessary, for it is still in service on 
original door to which it was first fastened. ek is 13H" bite Th 
press—3 1%,’ x 114’’—has line ornament. 


Ficure 2. Bar, circa 12” long. ‘Staple, 2 256" x 56", 
braced. er 
Note.—The long strap-hinges on the door have finials ae 
of bar. 


Ficure 3. A Norfolk latch from an old house in ) 
Date circa 1780 to 1790. It is 123” over all. x 


Figure 4. Saucered thumb-press and curved nee 
left. Bar, staple, and catch missing. ae Meehan sis 
Bates, of Middle eoac con 


PLATE 26 
EARLY NORFOLK LATCHES 


It is very probable that these three Norfolk latches’ 
work of the same Connecticut smith, though th e one has_ 
sylvania. They are similar in conception, Fi ure 
- form, Figure 1 being in better proportion though smaller tha 
thumb-presses have C. L. ends, and the satehiee sof Figures ‘ 
the one twisted and the other plain. oe a 


Ficure 1. Is still in service on the Solcnel Bradlee 
—in Watertown, Conn. Latch is 1134” x 5”” extreme. 
not of early type as that of Figure 2. 


Figure ta. Back-latch group of Figure is Baris is II 
over all. 7 


Ficure 2. From the Moras: Bde Collection in | 
Morgan Memorial Museum, Sreren oe 3 Latch, 13 
missing. Staple plain. ae 


Ficure 3. From the ealfesean of Me a D. Br 
Pa. Latch is 1314’ x 558” over all. Bar, staple, a1 
Britton states that he bought this latch from a wayfé 
of local origin, as he has never seen any of that type 


Ler 


ee ae 


1 _ s = < * 
a ee a ee ee le 


PLATE 27 
EARLY NORFOLK LATCHES 


Ficure 1. An odd, locally made affair from an old fee in | 
field, Conn. Date underermined, but probably latter sah of the « ighte 
century. , om 


Ficure 2. This quaint conception from the Rokdroan House 
ersfield, Conn., dated 1727, has many points in common with that 
William Judson House in Stratford, Conn. (See Plate 25.) 
of thumb-press and slender, shapely handle-grasp, a ves 
Connecticut latches. The pene cae finial of this e 
decidedly naive. 


Fioure 2a. Back latch of Figure 2. Nass Gihinmaveds bree 
with its escutcheon scarcely fits in with the other members anc 
later date. The present owner of the house, Senator are 
old latch was recently bought in Hartford and placed on the 


Ficure 3. This unique Norfolk latch from the San 
1779—1n California, might claim the distinction of bei 
ican than all the others, for it was probably made by a Mex 
is §14"’ long and 2%«’ wide. The shape of the latch and 1 
on both front latch and bar are characteristically Indian 
tive arrangement of the deeply gouged lines on bar and 
press has S.L. This drawing was made after a ie 
Clark, of Santa Barbara, Calif. | 


Ficure 3a. Back-latch group of Figure 3. arene 


[ 86 ] 


ay ee 
.. eneAE USE: 


PLATE 28 
EARLY NORFOLK LATCHES 


Ficurss 1 and 2. Two Norfolk latches from he Thats r 
field, Mass. Both are about 7” in height and have beveled 
edges: Their bars—8” over all—are similar, and staples 
thumb-press of Figure 1 has S. L., while that of Figure 2 has 

The hand-grasp of Figure 2 was missing. The plate is s 
instead of the clinched lower grasp end. At the upper grasj 
part of the thumb-press is thrust through, a makeshift 

The latches are said to be contemporaneous with the 
eighteenth century—and are similar to those of the same | 

We insert three European latches of a similar character 
different countries, showing the bee of me hs 
sixteenth century. 


Ficure 3. Nimes, France. 


Ficure 4. Sulgrave Manor, England. Ancestral homeo th 
ton family. 


Ficure 5. El Escorial, Spxin—sixteeth century. 


- 


as AT ern. sect Ra 


? 


“a-” 


PLATE 29 
EARLY SUFFOLK LATCHES OF ARROW-HEAD- TYP! 


Figure 1. Latch, 15’ long, with the date 771 pricked in in 
from the Chaffee House, Windsor, Conn. If this custom | 
some way marking their handiwork had been more general 
smiths, as it was with certain manufacturers, it would be 
the student. But it was only spasmodically done. Figure 1 
shows a Pennsylvania example, and there 1 is a ey latch 
Figure 2. 


Ficure ta. Back-latch group of Pea ip - Aiea 


FIGURES 2, 3, and 4. All from Deerfield, Mass., and 
thumb-presses with S. L. ends, plain bars and sere te 


catches. 


Figure 2. Measures 1034" over all, and differs = from 


ing a swivel lift. 
Ficure 3. Measures 1038” over at oN 
Ficure 4. Measures 974" over all. S. 1. eee 


Figure 5. A more squatty specimen of aoe same 1 ; 
Haverhill of about the same period. As rox4"” 
Back-latch members plain. r 


PLATE 36 | 
SUFFOLK LATCHES—ARROW-HEAD PATTERN oy: 


Ficure 1. This notched arrow-head latch, now in the 
Salem, Mass., is probably the original latch of the John W 
—(restored and at present a museum connected with the ins 
is 1234” over all. Hand-grasp is round, slightly, beveled, and | 
tooling at the center. Bar, staple, and catch missing. = 


Ficure ta. Typical early New England latch-bar, with le 
hand-grasp. (See Plate 96.) Reproduction of bar of this i | 
ent latch of the Ward House, Salem, Mass. _ ae 


Ficure 2. A squatty version of the arrow-head pat tt 
on the Loomis House—1688—Windsor, Conn. — 


Figure 2a. Simple bar of Figure 2. | Braced en or um 
C.L., as have most of the sont! on the fet foes of this n 
house. 


FIGURE 3. Latch of eve same type fate ie Gabcaee 
1722—(Graeme Park), Montgomery County, Pa. Latch 
over all. Bar and staple plain. De has Ss. L 
escutcheon plate. ee 


Loz} 


P LATE 4 im 
SUFFOLK LATCHES PENNSYLVANIA 


Ficure 1. An arrow-head type similar to those of 
from the Schwartzlander pein tao? vias 


over all. 


Figure ta. The beveled bat 34" hae a iy mfere 
grasp. The thumb-press is very unusual, set upside doy 
end fully shows. The braced SS is Puen t 
average. ~ 


FicurE 2. Another Bucks eae ia: latch from | 
—1769. Its serrated cusp sides are unique. It: ‘ 


Ficure 2a. The bar is 10%”, ae i: a tiny 
The catch has supporting brace, wi 
the thumb-press has S. L. 


cc eteete | 


- 


ee ee eee ee i eT i ee ee a, Bere ee Ee See 


eae, eee Se, a? — — 


PE ATS eee 


SUFFOLK LATCHES FROM THE HANCOCK-CLARKE HOUSE | a 


The Hancock-Clarke Houte i in Lexington, Mass.—1698—has a number ; 
of interesting old latches of the arrow-head type, five of them cusp aes 
one swivel, and many of them with C.L. There are also two of the s 
bean type ‘with C, L., one of them having saucered thumb-press; as 
one of the trefoil pattern (Figure 3), one plain Norfolk, and one wooden I 
on an attic door. 


Figure 1. An excellent example of the period, showing coun i 
decoration by indentation and attempts at chamfering and line Mica 
sides of the cusps and the center of the shapely half-round handle-g 

Latch, 1034” over all. Thumb-press dished or saucered, ae roe 


Ficure 1a. Back-latch members of Figure 1. Note the ur 
amount of decoration on bar and shaped end of catch brace with i be 
mented nail-head. 


Ficure 2. Another arrow-head latch from the same house, 
crude than Figure 1. Length, 834” over all. Thumb-press has S. 


Figure 2a. Back-latch members of Figure 2. Staple and ca 
Bar—7'%./’—terminates in graceful bulbous form. 


Ficure 3. This trefoil patterned specimen—834” long—is p 
a later period. There is no attempt at ornament save the tooled 
the center of the handle-grasp. « Thumb-press has S. L. end. Th 
marks of a previous arrow-head latch underneath this latch. _ 


Ficure 4. Another back latch—1034@”’ long—from the - 
House, showing unusually ornate escutcheoned staple, catch wee 
brace end, and an escutcheon plate underneath the bulb-shaped a 
the bar, which does not often appear in the earlier latches. 


[ 96 } 


PLATE gar 
‘SUFFOLK LATCHES 


Ficure 1. A rare old latch group from the Palihauke Tou 
pe Mass., built in 1668. It is simple in desig ens masta to 


spat of constant use. 


Ficure ta. The bar is 10” over all. Staple ana catch sae lain, 
of bar matches pattern of cusps. : r YE al 


Ficure 2. Another rugged old specimen, its back: 
from an old barn in eastern Connecticut. It bears a striking 
to the Fairbanks latch and is pa e very early ae 
workmanship. 


Ficure 3. Latch from the old Quaker Meshas tae 
Long Island. The latch measures ech over r all; aes 


FIGuRE 4. aah quite similar to Figure 3. ‘aa perk 
same smith, as it is on the front door of the house of John E 
Quaker of F lushing, Long Island. This historic house was 
for a number of years was the gathering place of the rt 
Fox having found shelter within i its s walls. ae “measures 1 


catch is braced. 


Cosh 


rd air’ ae “eet Pe, ee Sigel ee ee oe see 
ae oe ee tt PE Ula ee ONS a ated 

OP eet PD el eee ee Oe oo eC ee 

iD cine Welt ie POM Reive week a cies ee sy Oe Le 


PLATE 34 
SUFFOLK LATCHES MASSACHUSETTS 
Ficure 1. The John Wiliams Hoaee ts Deerfield : 


tains this excellent specimen of arrow-head Latah 
all. “Thumb-press, ©. boends | ace ; ; 


Ficure ta. Bar—giz/’—is plait s save at the aan 
the nail-head is also modeled. Staple plain. Catch 


Ficure 2. There is a sentimental appeal in this la 
the Quaker poet, John Greenleaf Whittier, at Hav 
Though a fairly good example of its kind its relative 
the back-latch group, particularly in the han | 
rather unusual. Latch measures 10}4”' over all. 


Ficure 2a. Back-latch group of Reuse 2 a E: 4) ) 


‘PLATES S 3 | 
SUFFOLK LATCHES—CONNECTICUT o 
Ficure 1. This sturdy latch of the Suffolk ; a. still 


door of an old house on one of the side streets of Str 
late eighteenth century. It is 1214” over all, ma 


Ficure 1a. The bar is plain, 1034” in len 
C.L. The catch has a supporting brace, and 1 
is the double row of gouges on either side of the 


Ficure 2. A variation of the same nate: S 
= vires gee 


i » 
CU RET RN Eh tae 
ar ¢ f J Say 
aati ae 
[ 102 } 
hie eK 
fe 


PLATE 36 


SUFFOLK LATCHES—CONNECTICUT 


show the latches on the doors of the famous old Parise 7 Rea 
Branford, Conn., in which Yale College was organized in 1701-1702. T 
old house was destroyed in 1835, but interested friends saved the orig 

doors which are now appropriately placed in the library of the U 
at New Haven. (See article by George Dudley pitas in Old-T 
England for April, 1926.) ; 


Ficure 1. The latch now on the se is of the idee a 
probably imported, S. L., 734” over all, its only decoration being 
heavily incised lines in the center of the ‘handle-grasp. It is un 
replacement, for it is in no wise related to the eee idee 
it is at present assembled. 


Ficure 2. Careful examination revealed the Bae and n 
an earlier latch, the outlines of which are here depicted. ‘This 
14” over all, or nearly twice the size of that of ea hor I, is similar i 
to the latches of the period in the near-by town o Stratford. 
Plate 35. Z 


Figure 3. Bar—1134"" long—which has been one to He : 
(see Plate 40, Figure ra, for similar Bien 2h Staple plain. Catch 
ing brace. : Gia Past 


{ 104 } 


FIGuRE I. 


likely of the late eighteenth century. I 1356” over all. oN 
Ficure 1a. Back latch of Figure 1, the bar measuring v8" 


FIGURE 2. 


FIGURE 3. 
FIGURE 4. 
FIcurReE 5. 


PLATE 37 
SUFFOLK LATCH ES—CONNECTICUT 
From Hyland House, dane fly 1660 Gres 


Cromwell—circa 1790—13%4”” long. Gan 
Sharon—late eighteenth century—1334” long. = 
Middle Haddam—late eighteenth century. A . 
Middlesex County—same period—12” long. % a 


[106 } 


Sn ee et eee he Te ee 
‘ » a i Pe: eae ee tee 


PLATE 38 
SUFFOLK LATCH ES—BALL-AND-SPEAR PATTERN—CONNECTIC 


Except Figure 7 all these latches are from. Connectictt and ar 
ball-and-spear type. The hand-grasps are half round, and nearly 7 
cised line decoration in some form at the center. In. most cases 5 
are curved. : 


Ficure 1. From Plainville, Conn., a now ae a Mr. 
Lockwood. It is 1114” over all. Thumb-press flat, round, with 
shown in outline to the left. To right, ornamented bar be "a 
with chamfered edge and incised line decoration. Braced catch. “ae 


Ficure 2. From East Berlin, Conn. 1534" over all. Ss. SS 


Figure 3. On the door of the Buell House—1760-80— ! 
ough, Conn, It is 1736” over all and is owned by oe Mary F 
ford, Conn. 4 


Ficure 4. From the D. A. R. Headquarters at Colchester 


over all. 
Ficure 5. Owned by the Misses Amelia M. Witobh Fee 


cs 


son, of East Windsor Hill, Conn. Latch measures ie Wet eo 
press missing. : 


Ficure 6. Also from East cyan Genie 1636" over 
Ficure 7. From Martinsburg, N. Y. Early ninetes nt : 


Ficure 8. Ornamented bar J Massachusetts, 
plain. 


PLATE 05 


SUFFOLK LATCH ES—SWORDFISH TYPE. 


The swordfish latches here depicted are excellent examples of ee 
and show the finished workmanship of the latch-makers near the close of the 
wrought-iron period. As far as we have been able to ascertain, these latche: 
were made about the year 1812. They are still in their original 8 
and are handsomely wrought in every detail, no part escaping 1 
decoration, even to the very nail-heads. The brass escutcheon pla 
which the lift end of the eee) is thrust (in the back net 
ably added later. 


Ficure 1. On a door of the old Pocotieapiie oe ‘fas | n 
Conn., now owned by Mr. Buell. Latch measures 2434” over all 


Figure 1a. Back-latch group of Figure 1. It is typical 
ornate specimens of this type of latch. (See Plate 41, Figure 


Figure 2. On the door of an East Hampton house near the old. 
Latch is 26” over all. For back-latch group see Plate 95, Figu 


Ficure 3. From the old Bacon Academy—1803— ( 
This latch measures 1434” over all, and has a single swordfi: 
upper cusp. Thumb-press has C. L. Back latch missin 
this pattern is serving as handle on an old barn door eM 
For another example see Plate 52, neue hear 


; Lilie fia 


Bocoto poug Tavern 


East Hampton C4, 


PLATE 40° | 
SUFFOLK LATCHES—SWORDFISH TYPE 


Figure 1. Swordfish latch on door of Nathan Hale Schoolhouse 
London, Conn.—1774—similar to those on Pocotopaug Tavern | 
Hampton and elsewhere. Thumb-press has same eminiic but ba 
much simpler. Length of latch, 27” over all.* axe 


Ficure ta. Back-latch group of latch above. Bar is ia 
usual, and the bend in it near the catch end seems strange. Pe 
so shaped to fit a different jamb which may have been altered 
toration.” The bar on the Parson Russell House latch (see. 
Figure 3) is similarly bent. 


Ficure 2. An attractive little specimen, similar to Figure 1. 
smaller—1134” over all—from Colchester, Conn. Note close re 
of thumb-presses, tooling of center of handle, shapely bar ends, 
This latch probably dates from early 1800, fee has a sort of. 
upper cusp. eA 


Ficure 2a. Back members of Je ws 2. Bar is 36" hea. 
acteristic ornamented axis sia a 


Back latch missing. apron oan C.L. feels 


* A letter from Mr. Ernest E. Rogers, o of the 
(New London, Conn.), says this latch “was placed on othe door tei 
Conn., and is a genuine antique.” 


sigs scat 


[112 } 


ie, 


ee os! oe ba 


a 


asc es #8 © “= €¢ & & 
Sameer A TAREE NN RINE ONTE Salat 


4 4 7 hes a 5 5 - th ae - . 4 
ii a ee es Peas ae ee ee ae ee ee ee cl Gane “hae ee Lae ee ee ee eo 


hee 
rr ve 


PL A T E 4 ie 
SUFFOLK LATCHES —sWORDPISH TYPE 


Ficure 1. From the John Isham House, Cobphegtet € | 
now the home of Miss Abby E. Willard. Latch, 26” over 


Ficure 1a. The bar—184” long—strongly resembles that of 
topaug Tavern on Plate 39, as do the other back-la tch mi 
they are not quite as ornate. The Breathe gres | is este 
curved lift end. | d 


Ficure 2. Now in the Metropolitan ‘Maden of Art, 
very like Figure 1, though i it has circular rather than 
Length over all, 29 ih", ; Back-latch group missing. — 


Note.—It is quite likely that most of these aches. were 
man or group of men in the same district, probably the 
or Pratt, who worked in the an of ee 
chapter. 


ewe eee ha 
eee en Tome eee 
<7 ; ll 


PLATE 42 


SUFFOLK LATCHES—CONNECTICUT 


This oriental-looking group of Connecticut latches suggests contact ; 
foreign shores on the part of the designer. As they all came from the C n. 
necticut River district, a returning sailor’s souvenir might have been re- 
sponsible for the Turkish motif, even as the returning crusaders in the M 
dle Ages were accountable for the Byzantine influence manifested in s 
the wrought-iron and other decorations of that era in England and 

These latches are mentioned by another author as being very 
it has been our good fortune to locate quite a number of | them. 
capitation of those in Figures 1 and 2 seems strange, and one 
whether it is the result of accident or design. They are all from 
vicinity, are nearly of a size, and are very similar in \ peneae Sei 
ment of both front and back members. 


Ficure 1. Rocky Hill, Conn. 1414” as is. Pin hares 
original. Thumb-press has C, L., as shown above. Catch 1 


Ficure 2. Now in Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 
Ficure 3. On the house of Mrs. C. J. Boardman, aes 


over all. 


Figure 3a. Back-latch group of Figure % Chamfred bar 
long. % 


Ficure 4. Morgan-Nutting Colleation in _ Soni Speie 
Memorial Museum, Hartford, Conn. . , 


Ficure 4a. Back-latch group of Figure 4. 
Ficure 5. Also in Berlin, Conn, 18” long. | 
Figure $a. Back-latch group of ais? oa Lo 


(ube 


PLATE 43 


SUFFOLK LATCH BS—FARMINGTON TYPE 


cut. "They have a tongue extension at the ay of is bee 
handle, or sometimes on both cusps, as in Figure 2. The bac : 
of all are plain and the catches have supporting braces. aes 


Figure rt. On old First Church—1652-1771—in Farmin 
latch in all probability of the later date when the present edifi 
Note radiating line tooling on the elliptical form of both 
measures 1714” over all. Door panel stegontrs: at pea sii 
ment. 


Figure ta. Back latch of Figen ag oe 14" long. 
end of lift, with radiating curved-line ornamentation. we 
ya 


Ficure 2. Also from Farmington, and measures 19 


Figure 3. From the collection of Mr. Newton L. L 
ville, Conn. Latch is 1434” over all and dates from 1770 
fine example of this type on the Barrett House i in Wethers 


Ficures 3a, b,c, andd. Back-latch group of Figure eae : rn 


. 


Bee ca 


Figure 1. Another Pasian be inl to see a 
from the Hyland House—circa 1660-1720—Guilford, Conn. : 
over all. Curved lift. Back-latch group doubtful. | 


Figure 2. Ani impressive Massachusetts leaf-pattern latch 


tury. Length, 16%” over all. It ee mB beveled handle-gra: 
thumb-press with curved lift end. Bar and bis are Boe. 
a twisted brace with heart-shaped finial. 


Ficure 2a. Back-latch group of Figure ae Ben is 5 9%" 


Ficure 3. A very ornate and unique Massehons 
pine-tree pattern. Length, 1314” over all. From the 
MacMillan Welch and now in the Metropolitan Museum 
City. Thumb-press has line ornament and curved tae es 
missing. See dy a7; ope 2. ; a 


or 


5 
ie 


} 


~ 2 Seen cree ee 


PLATE ae 


SUFFOLK LATCH ES—CONNECTICUT © 


Ficures 1 and 2. These handsome and strikingly. ‘simil: 
graced the doors of neighboring Connecticut churches. Figur 
service on the Congregational Meeting House in Little Had 
while Figure 2 was taken from St. Stephen’s Episcopal Ch 
dam, built in 1795 and destroyed a number of years ago. — 
tant pieces of hardware of this edifice were saved by. Mr. I M 
ard and are now in the Junius Spencer Morgan Mer 
Hartford, Conn. a 
Note the sameness of the bars, both the staples ey 
plates, and each thumb-press a curved rat-tail ending, : 
ing been made by the same hand. These latches are repr 
highest point in craftsmanship reached by the earlier blacksmi 
icut, their work excelling anything of its kind in New En; 
a highly decorative feature on the doors of many of the 
period. They were larger as a rule than the average, that « 
38” over all, while the length of Figure 2 is 2834". The ba 
1334’ over all , and the plate of the catch measures 4 c 


Re CV, ee en See Rs ee ee ee RS cae ee a a 


On: SEARO phe ae Me eat en a Se 


PLATE 46 
SUFFOLK LATCH ES—CONNECTICUT 


The examples shown on this plate are evidently the work of eh 
master hand as those illustrated on Plate 45, for they are se from the 


lettet to Mr. George Dudley Ssvinaee previously: quoted in the ble 
section of Chapter I, was the result of our efforts to find out if pos 
made these imposing latches. 


Ficure 1. From East Haddam, Conn. Measures 3434" a 
Curved rat-tail lift end as suggested at side. © 


Figure 2. Also from East Haddam and is orobahty the | ir 
period in the colonies, for it is 3934”’ over all. Thumb-press dist 
the chamfered notching in the crescents above and below the main « 
disk units, a characteristic of the swordfish latches illustrated O 

39 and 40. 


Ficure 3. Latch, 2834” long, on the left front door of Se 
tional Church at Little Haddam, Conn. Thumb-press flat with ¢ 
end, as outlined below illustration. There is a similar latch on 
door of this church, Fat late on contol Geaerese Plate 45, 
arrangement of hardware on the other Ode of these Govtss see 
and 130. | 


Ficure 4. An odd latch in Middle Hires probably ee the 
shop, judging by the design, though this one is a cusp instead of a swiv 
and the handle-grasp 1 is more decoratively treated. Thumb-pre 
Latch much smaller in size than the ane ecm Ne 


{124} 


FR we ad |! Sa 


PLATE 47 


SUFFOLK LATCH ES—CONNECTICUT. 


A type of swivel latch found in the vicinity of Moodus al 
Conn. Some maintain that they were made by the Warne 
who perhaps also made the heroic and ornate specimens in 
Haddam, These are, of course, far simpler in form, but the 
the tapering terminals of the more elaborate swordfish latches 
evidence. They certainly look like the forerunners of th 
and 40, and are similar in form of handle-grasp, swivel fo 
catch with plate, appearance of bar, and, finally, size. - 


Ficure 1. 2414” over all. Owned os Mr. George D 


of New Haven, Conn. 
Ficure ta. Profile of catch, bar, and staple of Figure rie 


Ficure 2. 1834” over all. Owned by Mr. Geor 
of New Haven, Conn. 


Figure 3. 13” over all, and now on a barn ah 
Colchester, Conn., though it ‘prubalily held a more digr 
past. From sketch by Mr. J. ei. ears 


Conn. 


PLATE 48 


SUFFOLK LATCHES—SWIVEL LIFT 


Ficures I, 2, and 3. Three highly decorative latches ee 
ern at Hadlyme Ferry, Conn.—eighteenth century—two of them 
and 3) now in the possession of Mr. James Lord Pratt, of the famed unk 
line of smiths in Essex, Conn. All have C. L., and are probably the w 
Warner, the Hadlyme smith, as they have many pain in common 
latches of his time and vicinity. 


Ficure 1. Measures 2014” over all. 


Figure 2. Measures 19” over all, From a sketch by Mr 
Kelly, A. I. A., of New Haven, Conn. . eee 


Figure 3. Measures 17, 4" over all. 


the jamb, a5 shown in Figure eb We have ined eet 
similarity to many of the latches in epson as. Spee as 
thumb-press feature. ) a 


[8h 


tion, Ne York oe ‘egBrom th Figures ran 3 with 
Plate 47, swordfish types, Ry eta a 


Ficure 2. From tice Conn. 
Ficure 5. aS 
Ficure 6. Near eee N. Y, cae over all. 


Ficure 7. River Edge, N. J. 8” over all. 
Ficure 8. Hartford, Conn. 1036" over all. 


¥ ve ; 
ee 
’ t > 
1 2 is 
ye 
Fs 
. . ; 
{ s 
- , : 
a ~ 
a 
. 4 x f 


ie Ge a Se a On ee ee ee a pa) Paes a 
: ty sig SE a ts P aaee Via ut By | hues ce ve sack 
% " i ao ee eee aS ty », 


PLATE 50 
SUFFOLK LATCHES—BALL AND SPEAR TYPE 


This latch is of special sentimental interest because it adorns one 
doors of thé old Wayside Inn—1683—Sudbury, Mass., made fam« 
Longfellow’s visits and poem. Since its purchase and rehabilitation 
Henry Ford the inn has more than ever become a mecca fs i 

The latch measures 1434” over all. Bar is 834" lor rf 

3%” long. The back escutcheon plate was probably a ae | 
original latch members, as a protection against wear. Owing t 
tunate placement on the door this latch, chong large enough | 
tention, is not as effective as it might be. eee wes 

On a plain batten door the position of the latch veka fete ifFe 
in the general effect, but on a paneled'one it is quite another matter. 
a fine old latch has suffered in this respect and many a door has beer 
sometimes as a result of transferring old hardware to new loc 
more often because of sheer lack of thought. This particular la 
bears evidence of having served many years in its present lo 
worn condition of the thumb-press aperture and ae 
ance of the back escutcheon plate show. 


\' -_ . es 


Von, 
Ni, 


: 
. 
4 


iN Se 


To Cees Me i ats ta a cea, wi x oe ee Pu 7, Eee nar eee 


PLATE os I 
SUFFOLK LATCHES—MASSACHUSETTS | 


Ficure 1. Latch from the Sheldon anes: Deertald: 
Note the ornamental chamfering at both top and bottom, ; 
shaping of the handle-grasp, with two incited, ab near 


Length, 1014” over all. “ais 
Figure 2. The bar is rather atintre eet ong—" : | 

end and gouged line decoration. The catch has a pon ded : 

nating in heart shape. Staple plain. ie 
Note.—A census of the latches on this house eresied 


3 Norfolk type (2 with S. be 1 with C. L), 
6 bean type (1 with S. L., 5 with CL), s- 
2 arrow-head type (1 with S. L., 1 bide 
1 ball and spear type (with C. Le : 


An interesting contribution to the curved versus st! 


fi 


1S) yt Oa - ee 
pie Lie /otet ne, + ca a Se a eat Pi: 
: eA ee oe 


PLATE 52 


SUFFOLK LATCHES 


Figure 1. An impressive example of sturdy appearance | 
Kriger place, near South Williamstown, Mass. It is 1934" over all, 
sembles the swordfish type in Connecticut. ae has x 
as shown. yee 


Ficure ta. Ornate bar is 13’” ons Gok like the ee | 
Ficure 2. This arrow-head latch from Mill River, 
of an early period, judging from its crudely wrought 
has character appreciated by those who understand the 
and anvil. It measures 1534” from tip to tip. Back 


Flat thumb-press has C. L. Only peat at ornamen 
handle-grasp. 


Figures 1 and 2 from the collection of Mr. w. B 
Forge, New York City. 


Figure 3. From Washington’ s Headquarters, 
press has S. L. 


Ficure 4. New Paltz, N. ve gis! over all. : r 
Figure 4a. Back latch of Figure 4. Bar, 574” lon g. 
Ficurr 5. Colchester, Conn., swordfish type. 


~ ‘ ¥ 
et 


Ni 


eee 


Ai 


ee Te ye eae eee Fe 


PLATE 53 


Ficure i. A simple arrow-head ake, fro he heuer 
Joseph Stebbins in Deerfield, Mass., priate nie one 


se 958" by 3%", a ace spring arrangement, sad an 
pin device for locking, which illustrates a phase in the transition 
to lock. For full discussion of this development | ‘see 
Locks, and Plates 98-107. : ae 

Note heart shape of spring ae and head of carnpin for 
the simple ornamental finial of the brace for the catch, 

There are other minor arrow-head katate in this 
most of which have os lifts. . 


i eo 


PLATE 54 
SUFFOLK LATCH ES—TRANSITION TYPE 


Ficure 1. Another illustration of the transition from 
the old Washington Tavern in Westfield, Mass.—circa 
plate (7’’ x 4’’), bar (614”), and staple are more ornate t 
53, but the thumb-press end is straight and the catch is u 
is no bar spring, but the locking device has a 
the turn-pin head is similar in design to the previous one. 


-Ficure 2. The front latch is of the common ‘ oer 
it is said replaced an earlier one of better kind. 


PLATE 55 
SUFFOLK LATCHES—TRANSITION TYPE 


Ficure 1. Another Massachusetts specimen with more 
latch group of transition type, from the Mission House, 
—1740. Turn-pin lock arrangement similar to Plate 54. 
measures approximately 10}6” x 334”. Bar, we lias: 
piece.) ; 


FicuRE 2. Front latch i is _ more elaborate 


front door of the Colton aces 
back-latch group of the same Kinds “See Place i 


PLATE 56 
SUFFOLK LATCHES 
These latches are so similar in design that it is quite likely ee 
made by the same smith, a probability which is further s 
fact that both are on Dutch houses. Figure 2 is on a house i 
N. Y., of about 1703, while Figure 1 is from one in South E; 


built in 1761 by J. T. Tullar, probably a Dutch settler from 
Valley, for even the strap-hinges on the front door are of Dutch 


Ficure 1. A cusp latch from South Egremont, Mass., 
1238” over all. Handle-grasp has ins ornament at Dee 
dished and has C. L. ey hy 


Ficure ta. Bar, staple, and catch aes Bar, ark bee | 


Ficure 2. A swivel latch from Kingston, N. ae an 
over all. Thumb-press large and dished, with C. day 


Ficure 2a. Bae ye ee cree 


cusps. 


Te ee 


"SUFFOLK LATCH ES 


Three neers latches from the collection of Mr. w. | 
York City. 


Ficure 1. Resembles ine the latch of Plate e 
Inn, though the spear-point is more accented and the oval 
Latch is 16” over all. Thumb-press deep-dished. OL. 


Ficure 2. From the Slater homestead, West Stoc 
familiar type characteristic of the Housatonic Aue 
all. Thumb-press has C. L. end. 


Ficure 3. Another racniicaton of oe, ball 
New Fane, Vt., the i. Thumb terminating in a small 
Latch is 1358” over all. SE Soe mits & % ate 


PLATE 58 
SUFFOLK LATCH ES 


Ficure 1. Latch from the door ae a house i in Westfield, 
so—a familiar type in that locality. Both door and latch” 
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, it is 14 
Plain bar. Cc. L. end. i 


Ficure 2. A rather unusual Masseehiaeere ‘ube | , 
with dominating upper cusp. It is 1434’’ over all. 


round, with C. L. (shown at left). Staple bar and c 
Plates 68, 70, et seq., for other dominating upper cusp 


Ficure 3. A Connecticut latch with tobacco-leaf 
century make, belonging to Mr. George Dudley. 
Conn. Latch is 154” over all. Thumb-press flat 


Ficure 3a. Bar plain—113@” over all. Staple and . 
Ficure 3b. Sectional view of lift and handle, rasp. 


L148} eer 


im, % wie, 
eat aes r oo 2 


PLATE 59 


SUFFOLK LATCH ES—HOUSATONIC TYPE 


This group of jaunty members of Finis or tulip, cype 
about the same period. i. ¢., the close of the eighteenth century. 


Ficure 1. A fiddle-back specimen from N sv 
over all. Thumb-press saucered, C. L. eg ae 


Figure 2. From a house in Greenville, N N.Y. —1792- + , 
the house having a “straight-lift” thumb-press, all othe: 
Latch, 14” over all. 


Figure 2a. The bar - was fitted with a grasp-button and : 
cured to an ornamental plate. Catch plain. = 


Ficure 3. Another Newburyport, Mass., production, 


Ficure’4. From Berlin, Conn. 1134” over all. Bar 
Catch braced. 


Ficure 5. From Bernardstown, Mass. 
1800. qe Meena 


PLATE 664 4 


SUPFOLK LATCHES 


Figure 1. From Veodne ee Martone sees 
sures 1034” over all. 


FiGuRE Ia. Pachdarts group of Figure t Pl, 
staple. Catch with supporting brace. Shiga ie thu t 
end. : 


Ficure 2. From the old Day House—17 s4—in | West 
Latch measures 1032” over all. | : 


Ficure 2a. Back-latch group ar Figs as similar 
Note unusual distance from lift end to staple. — 


Figure 3. Latch—13’" over all—from old se Pe 
Philadelphia, Pa. 


Ficure 3a. Back-latch group ae Nate $e: Hie + 2 
plain, Catch has escutcheon plates S. L. See 
with hardware in place. rs 


t 


pa sae I 


Ls Iw 
oo. 


EP gas Rr es Sia eg he a ee 
i = 5 . ee a 


PLATE Ou, ay 
SUFFOLK LATCHES 


Ficure I. Hearhohane cusp specimen para : 
quarters at Newburgh, N. Y. Date about 1750. a 
Thumb-press has S. L. with end slightly modeled for be 


Ficure 1a. Bar, 634”. Staple plain. 


Figure 2. Rugged specimen from Shippen Mace ‘ 
N.J., dated 1740. Resembles Figure 1 on Plate ae Latch 


Ficure 2a. The bar and staple give decided 
with the Pennsylvania German workers near by, wh 
these members in like manner. Bar is 734" ov over all 
72, pase I, and Plate ay. eS . 


F 
© #A ra 
Bal] Pinay 
i evn 
; ‘ 
ae 
oh aw 
ih fae 
ae 
: 4 
1 ve 
5 wee 
ps 
ey Ere % 
ad or 
* ‘ cy ey “as 
Sp ER eo a ear 
oy le We Cera 
Pry 
ety my 
wees iy 
LT ay 
Al sp 
Pog Opa gr 
‘ 


rs 


1 er rea) 9 2 ee “<t er es 
A TOR es bd Ae 
ia 2 _ -. ove sy 


PLATE 62 | 
SUFFOLK LATCHES - 


Ficure tr. A splendid example of the icalel® Bs 
rather common along the Housatonic Valley.* 1 hi 
house in Hillsdale, N. Y., dated 1720, is probably 
over all, and has dished oe xi ees 


Ficure 2. This Panievivaits pa we chee plac 
to show the full-blown tulip pattern. Tt ae to 
curved lift end. Catch see Bar and staple m 


«The Pennsylvania workers also occasionally age use of shoe nd 
20” over all. A good syeuines ol aie type is in Reamer od ee 


PLATE 63. 


SUFFOLK ARR PATTERN _ 


England in gross lots. They fons their way to rail a 
versal use being due to their cheapness. They were for 
swivel-lift, though occasionally one finds the cusp lift as well. 
pattern, however, they were often of local make. ~ b 
latches reached these shores before the Revolutionary | Wi 
date from after its close. They were finally supersed : 
iron latch which came into vogue about 1845. F 
Several of the latches on this ora are Siete of f 
for they have not the finished look of the factory prog: 


Figure 1. From Annapolis, Md.—1=60. 


Ficure 2. From Greene County, N. Y. — 
Figure 3. From East Haddam, Conn. mae 
Figure 4. From South Glastonbury, Conn. — er Rae : 

Ficure 5. From Burlington, N. J. | 2 
Ficure 6. From Plymouth, Mass. be Ste 
Ficure 7. From Montgomery County, Pa. we 
Ficure 8. From Horsham, Pa.—1755. end Gp “hk 


% 
- 


Lima Eean 


PLATE 64 


SUFFOLK LATCH ES—PENNSYLVANIA 


Ficure 1. Another Bucks County latch—from the “ 
now in museum of Bucks County Historical Society, Do: 
is simple in pattern, its unusual feature centering in. 
stout lozenge or disk welded on for a grasp. 4 


Ficure 1a. Bar is 734” over all. Thumb-press has S. a 


Ficure 2. A glorified member of the “ bean” 
latch, with a goodly suggestion of modeling on its h 
door of the old Quaker Meeting House at Merion, 
where William Penn attended meeting on many an c 


Ficure 2a. The bar, measuring 14’” over all, 
usual in length for this type of oe has” a ned 
beveled. F a 
Note-—Another latch of the Be a in oe iil 
thumb-press with C. L. (labeled “other latch,” below, 


PLATE 65 ey 
SUFFOLK LATCH ES—ARROW-HEAD PATTERN 


Ficure 1. From the old Van Deusen House—early eight 
—at West Hurley, Ulster County, N. Y., now belonging to Mr. 


Ficure ta. Back-latch group of the above. The bar is the 
portant member, as its shapely fashioned henge pee it 
Thumb-press has Sis 


Ficure 2. A swivel arrow-head latch similar, to rt Hause: 
Johnson House—1768—at Germantown, Pa. Sees Pyle 
Club of that place). Latch is 123” over all. Sag 


Fioure 2a. Back-latch group of ‘Figure: Be: 
catch plain. Thumb-press has S. L. 


_ There are two latches of similar type and t two of smaller d 
this house, all of yas have S. dei 3 


PLATE 66 


SUFFOLK LATCHES—CONNECTICUT AND PENNSYLVANIA _ 


Figure 1. From the Congregational Church at Sharon, 
dating from 1824, a latch over which controversy has arisen. Sor 
it is cast iron, but it is also claimed that there were no ae la 
fore 1840. It is 1834’’ over all. Thumb-press has C. L. end.* _ 

Ficure 2. From church at Woodbury, Conn., 1797. It is 1 


= Thumb-press has C. L. end. Bar and staple plain. Catch has é 
race. 


FIcuRE 3. An odd conception owned by Mr. Francis c M 
Doylestown, Pa. It is 1734” over all. Thumb-press round, flat, » 
end. Date probably early nineteenth century. . 


‘Ficure 4. A handsome Connecticut latch—late cighteenth 
from Middlesex County. 


Ficure 4a. Back-latch group of Figure 4. eee 5 
Bar and catch ae Staple flat. 


House, near edith. Conn., and is 1414” over r all. 


Ficure sa. Back-latch group of Figure ‘5. Bar, OF long 
ornamented. Catch braced. Thumb-press missing. 


*In reply to an inqui as to whether this latch is wrought of cast iron came the following r 
present pastor, Rev. F. W. Herman: ne 


Dear Sir: I made inquiry about the latches you wrote about and two of my men, good judges, a 


were wrought iron. (Signed) Yours 
Sharon, Conn., June 2, 1926. ; : I ; 


{ 164 } 


S a a 


ee’ 
Fal 


“Tepe | 


ss = 3 & ® 


PLATE Me 
SUFFOLK LATCH ES—PENNSYLVANTA 


Three Quaker types from the Buckingham Meeting Ac 
Pa.—1768. All are simple in form, Figure 2 being rather 
the others, and all have eee anes elmilar ay 
and S. L. ends. 


Ficure 1. 1136’ long. 


£ 


Ficure ta. Back-latch group of Rae Es Bar dif Fe 
Figure 2a, grasp end being square. 


Figure 2. 14%” long. eee em 


Ficure 2a. Bar, 121%” long. It is susie’ to ‘ae 
rounded at the catch end. The xaneh has a ste 


long—s534”’. 
FicuRE 3. A primitive specimen, 1 ae over oe v 


bles the Fairbanks latch, of Dedham, Mass.—1668—on } 
back members to Figures 1 and 2. — 


House: 
i. 


ion 


nn... 


ee, 


B 


PLATE 68 


SUFFOLK LATCHES—MORAVIAN TYPES 


Three Palatinate examples, two from the Moravian 
vania and the other from its later offshoot at Winston- 


Ficure 1. From the “Gemein,” or Community . ee 
Pa.—1742. Itis 1134” in height, its rather ae 
tulip in form. Thumb-press round, flat, with C. L. 


Figure 2. Foliate pattern from the Moravian settl 
Salem, N. C., on a house dated 1817, though the latch : 
pearance of being of an earlier date and was probably shifted. Thi 
has C.L. Bar and staple plain. Latch, 1134” overall, 


Ficure 2a. Bar of Figure 2 is 934” over all. Cay, end. 


Ficure 3. A specimen from the “Crown Inn,” at. 
—now in the Moravian Museum at Nazareth, Pa. It is 1 
has a flat, tapering, beveled handle-grasp. Unique thum 
with accentuated C. L., as shown in phuatra Ge oe 


j 
} 
¥ 
t 


. 
4 


EN pee ene 


PLATE 69 
SUFFOLK LATCHES— PENNSYLVANIA | 


Ficure 1. From Graeme Park, Montgomery Count 
ple follows the lines of the earlier arrow-head latches, 
beveled hand-grasp. Latch is 11 AG over all. Ms io 
bedi 5s: has S..L. oe 


end. 


Ficure 3. From the Buckinghaek Meeting foe at 
1768. Thumb-press has S.L. Bar, 1034”. ae back 
- are similar to those al Fi neck 2 on iin. Sts: 


al 


PLATE 70 


SUFFOLK LATCHES—PENNSYLVANIA 


Figure 1. An excellent Pennsylvania specimen of the ‘tulip: 
longing to Mr. W. B. Montague, of Norristown, Pa. It i is 18) 
Thumb-press and other members are missing. This piece is 
well wrought. (See Plate 75, Figure 2.) 


Ficure 2. A very odd specimen, originally on the Sallieare 
Hagersville, Pa., 1833, but now in the museum of the Bucks ( 
torical Society at Doylestown, Pa. It is 1214” overall. I 
cusp type. (See Plates 74 and 75.) Thumb-press has S. : ht 
turned end. For bar, staple, and catch see re 8 baer : h 
being a particular feature of this group. 


Ficure 3. Similar type from the Brucker Hote’ at pt 
date. This latch is now in the museum of the Buck 
Society, Doylestown, Pa., and its length over all is 756" 
‘missing. Catch has supporting brace. Note tongue 
cusp, somewhat resembling the ge Bere es 


teenth cen tury. 


Ficure 5. A latch of similar type ion Bucks : 
over all. 


{i72] : | 


LIE mm 2k 


I 
ee BI ee 


PLATE 71 


SUFFOLK LATCHES—PENNSYLVANIA — 


Ficures 1 and 3. Still doing duty on the “Community House’ 
—at Bethlehem, Pa. Figure 1 measures 934” over all and Figure 
over all. Figure 3 bears a striking resemblance to the latch « 
Crown Inn (Figure 3 on Plate 68), particularly in the shape of 1 
cusp, and is evidently the work of the same hand. The lower cusp 
3 is typical of the Bethlehem worker. Thumb-press has C. ae 


above. 


Figure ta. Back-latch group of Figure © Baro! “over 
tail grasp. 


Ficure 2. From the collection of the Bucks County His 
at Doylestown, Pa. It is 14’’ over all. Thumb-press ha Ss. | 
and staple missing. ; 


Ficure 4. Another specimen of fasiiliar Moravian ve 
hem, Pa. 


Ficure 4a. Back-latch group of Ween Yoh _ Note on a 
ture of many Pennsylvania latches. te 


Ficure 5. Latch—1034” over all—from the General. Greer 
pre-Revolutionary date, Buckingham, Pa. —* 


Ficure sa. Back-latch group of Figure 5. Bar is 10 


L174] 


tpt tie meee" pie an—tiaitein “f 


; 


a A x 
i 


PP AN A pte ne worse ae | monn! 


S 


PLATE 7x 


ae Bothiehen: Py 


Figure 1. The hooded door-latch, 1034’’ over. nha 
tongue-like thumb-press with C. L. Its handle as is TO 
ple tooled modeling at its center, ae ta 

Ficure ta. The bar—8%0!’—is oie, with 
grasp. 

Ficure 2. Hidden away where re, can 
latch—10}4”’ over all—graces an attic door of the 


Ficure 2a. . Bar neatly modeled and | 
Note ornamental finial of the catch brace. 


Ficure 1. This odd old latch on oe batten door 
ters House” —1742—at Bethlehem, Pky erv 
upper cusp has a typical backlatch group, as 
lower one forms a specially fashioned « : utcheon 

verse side. The latch is 1334” long. Rade 2 


Ficure 1a. The bar is typically Palas ote 
ing a usual ornamental grasp. Catch has braced 
has C. L. ae at eee en 


PLATE 74 


Ficure 1. A rather aoe ee specimen of ing upp 
from the Michael Ley homestead at Myerstown, Pa.—1769. 
over all. Stocky aarti has C. L. end arterials oe 


FIGURE 4, A very hanteonse piece, sea w ae 
gift, the double-pointed heart design of the upper cusp s 
this possibility. The carefully wrought heart-shaped 
motif of the lower cusp would ee to bear out this suppos 


with other back tach ear het ms “Neecat ‘From the 
William B. Montague, of Bi Lael Pa: 2 See 


; [ 180 } ah ee 


ipa 
Miser ATs 


PLATE 75 
SUFFOLK LATCHES WITH DOMINANT upper 


 Ficure 1. This tees latch, a most characteristic 
Geman specimen of the dominant-upper-cusp ty d pe 
of Mr. Randolph R. Urich, of Myerstown, Pa. Nother hegenen 
is carried out even in the back-latch group, by re 
lower cusp on bar and catch finials. The crude r 
ing and the pricked serpentine ornament - anes init 


Ficure 2. Akotiey Peswyirante lateh z Rate 
tulip pattern, from the collection of Mr. Francis i | 
Latch is 874” over all. Bar, 8%". : 


o, 


PLATE 76 


Ficure 1. Latch of domnisludingeateeant eee 
C. Mireau, of Doylestown, Pa. It measures 874" over alt 
534” long and has C. L. end. | 


Ficure 1a. Unique twisted alae? Soran 


Ficure 1b. Unusual side-braced catch, the a C me 1 
of its kind. 


Pa. Thumb-press has S. L. iba 


Ficure 2a. Bar of Figure 2736" long. | 


Ficure 3. An odd specimen—8 34” over all—of . 
Lancaster County, Pa. It is well wrought and hee ; 
oration on upper cusp, handle and ee es as) 


and catch missing. Beet a 
Figures 2 and 3 are in the collection of Mr. w. B Mont 
town, Pa. ae 


PLATE 77 


SUFFOLK LATCHES: | 


Ficure 1. A Pennsylvania specimen—114” over all- 
upper-cusp type, pricked with the date 1777: Figure 1 nF 
Connecticut latch marked 1776, so dating latches—though 
only the rarest instances—was evidently not confined to o 
latch bar dated 1728, see Plate 17, Figure 2. “: 


Ficure 1a. Back-latch group of Figure 1. Note h 4 
shank and grasp end of bar, bier is Bist dong. C2 9) 
Staple and catch plain. ies 


Ficure 2. A pattern strikingly sanilae to the. Cole ni 
on Plate 47, though this is of cusp lift while feren arenes tl 
Latch is 1034” over all. ae 


Ficure 2a. Bar, beveled doeiagy to’ ae of F 
Staple plain. Thumb-press has C. L. end, as outlined. — 


Ficure 2b. Braced catch of Figure arachér: a q 


Figures 1 and 2 are owned " Mr. Randolph R. 
Pa. 


[186} 


ot We 


TT a 2 an EE rn 


We nn get te POG: 
Fig. la. 
2 » 


Fle anaes 


Teh lags pe 


PUA LE FS: 
SUFFOLK LATCHES WITH DOMINATING UPPER CUSP 
Ficure 1. This unique latch with a double-headed bird or | 


belongs to Mr. Randolph R. Urich, of Myerstown, Pa. The 
motif is again exemplified in both cusps. Latch measures 11” over 
series of various-sized, deeply incised circles and dots cover the { 

cusp, which is also initialed. 


somewhat eee than danas 


Ficure 2. Pattern found in an old blacksmith’s ae 
It fits this latch perfectly and also that on Plate 83—circu 
that these latches at least were wrought by its original owner. T 
is now in the museum of the Bucks County Historical Society, | 
Pa., and was obtained from a dealer in Lancaster County, Pa. 


FicureE 3. A rare bird cheapo is iin Yankee bu 


Tavern opposite Old otis ise ast Gey see ; 
of average size, its back members—bar and staple “a : 
The lift end of the thumb-press is peraights 


“Old Newgate Prison” is quite inent in the revolt en la of Cosmbcrnae 
the beige nail factory and sinieheey The story of the conditions under — the 
as told by an. sapere of early epbad tmeera would ! 

“On eoty he smither Peng went to the sides of the. where 
the roof, were fastened round their necks, and other were chained in pairs 
“They came in irregular numbers, sometimes two or pug ther, 

one or more were about to cross the yard to the smithery, the soldiers were 
“The prisoners were heavily ironed and secured both by handcuff and. 
walk could only make their way by a sort of a jump or hop.” PAN cai 


[1 ss} 


od g ANNONA LEN ST Rt Ni EA NNT TORTI hamsiiidinisihin 


PLATE 79 


SUFFOLK LATCHES—DOMINATING, UPPER cusP at 


Ficure 1. From the gate of the old Ursuline Convent —1734 
New Orleans, La. The lyre-shaped pattern is typically French. 


Ficure ta. Bar is neatly fashioned and Bas: a button gre 
cutcheon plate. Staple also has a plate. C.L. pea 


Figure 2. An odd latch—93(” over all—from the Pi i 
—at East Hartford, Conn. Strange to say both Nasal : 
and other parts are wrought iron. = 


Ficure 2a. Plain bar—934""—and staple, ie ri braced 
on the plate. Thumb-press flat, round. C.L. — 

Ficure 3. This attractive latch is from the home—d: 
Joseph Hergesheimer, in West Chester, Pa. All the hardy 
is said to be contemporaneous with that period, e 
has recently undergone restoration. Latch measures 934" 


Figure 3a. Back-latch group with a plain bar—834"" 
tooling at staple end. - Staple has ornamental ve : 
brace. 


L190} 


gone bo 


Ficure 1. Odd latch with a upper copa one 
belonging to Mr. C. Musselman, of Ephrata, Pa. Has oe ‘ca 
plain. Catch braced as in illustration at side. | 


Ficure ta. Bar of Figure 1. 674" long. 
Ficure 1b. Catch of Figure 1. : | 


Ficure 2. Unique Pennsylvania German conception—1. 


from the collection of Mr. H. F. du Pont, Southampton, Lo 
side units on the upper cusp strongly resemble the cockeh 


latches, C. e Bar shown in Figure 2a. C. Lk 


Figure 3. Another old Pennsylvania specimen, b ain Ba ng 
dolph R. Urich, pe laaie Pa . a 


same as face Ia. 


Ficure 3b. Braced catch with eae shape finial, ve 


of bar. 


fie} 


PLATE 8 1 go | 
SUFFOLK LATCH ES—SINGLE, ‘cusP TPE high 


Jioute 1. From Moravian  Siatets House” “at a 


Cale ke: a broad, sturdy, flat handle-grasp with: beve 
the center. eT 


FicuRE Ia, Back-latch members of Figure 1. 1 . Bar ¥ 
braced. i. 


Ficure 2. A slender and cay loaning specimen 
of the signers of the Declaration of Inde 
liamsburgh, Va.—1710. Latch measures 10!” e over all ; 
same length. bs 


Ficure 2a. Back-latch group: of yes 


Ficure 3. A latch from Lancaster Canoe 3 
Musselman, of Ephrata, Pa. The unusual feat 
bifurcated or wish-bone lift end of the thumb. 
illustrated on the right. Latch is 11 ye over Pall 


PLATE 82 


SUFFOLK LATCHES—SINGLE CUSP TYPE 


This plate is inserted to show the European forebears of this p 
kind of latch, the single cusp with terminal hand-grasp. _ 


Ficure 1. From a building in Nimes, France, tied ne 
10” over all. ie 


Ficure 1a. Upper cusp of a Pennsylvania specimen of this 
from 1791. Located by Mr. Clayton Musselman, Ephrata, Pa. 


Ficure 2. Another sixteenth-century type in the Vidoate a 
Museum, London, England. Measures 8” over all. S.L. es | 


Ficure 3. From Lyons, France—seventeenth century. 
over all. Cusp finial very similar to Figure 1. Handle- 
swaged ornamental center. Thumb-press arrangement is ye 
usual, for it has a knoblike grasp at the wits while the flattened 7 
is on the inner side. . 


Figure 4. An odd small specimen of this type fguha on ak 
Lititz, Pa., but probably not in its original position. Its other 
missing. Ui 


Ficure 5. A Lancesres County example belsnnine to Mr. ( 
man, of Ephrata, Pa. Date 1710. Other members also’ ee 
strong resemblance to Figure 6. 


Ficure 6, A Lancaster County, Pa., product in the colle 
W. B. Montague, of Norristown, Pa. This very practical late 
all—is not very often found outside of Pennsylvania. Bar, be 
missing. Thumb-press has C. L., as shown at side. 


[196 ] 


ae eke 
“hey ae 


PLATE 83 
SUFFOLK LATCHES—SINGLE CUSP TYPE 


Ficure 1. A relative of the double bird’s-head type shown on 
and probably made by the same smith, for it is exactly the same 
shape, though the other latch appears to be of an earlier date. Th 
measures 914” over all and was found in Berks County, Pa., but is 
the collection of Mr. W. B. Montague, of Norristown, Pa. Ba is 734’ 
Staple, as well as bar, shown below, has incised line decoration. Latch 
fits pattern shown under Figure 2, Plate 78, as previously ment 


Ficure 2. Outline of upper cusp of a Lancaster Coun 
located by Mr. Clayton Musselman, of Ephrata, Pa. Soe 


Ficure 3. Another Pennsylvania single-cusp spi 
belonging to Mr. Randolph R. Urich, Myerstown, 


Ficure 4. This latch, no doubt the work of a i é 
on the side door of the well-known Tourangeau he 
Street, Quebec, built between 1770 and 1775. ee 


Figure: Te 


*It might not be amiss here to note that much of he poate! 
colonies was probably pe sake There is ample e\ that t 
titude of wanting their colonies to confine themselves to t 

“The mercantilist doctrine that a Colony existed for ie : 
bleau. The Paris authorities were not anxious to see the c 
liberal-minded Montcalm wrote: ‘Let us beware how we alow ; 
will become proud and rast like the English 

Chronicles of Pirie al Allen 


PLATE 84 


SUFFOLK LATCH ES—MORAVIAN SWIVEL ee 


Two swivel latches, from the Washington ‘Ther ‘ins 
N. C.—circa 1790. Washington was siete: we ‘this 
ing the town in 1793. 


Ficure 1. Latch is 1034” over all. i a i 
Ficure 1a. Bar, 938” long. C.L, end. ae ald 


Figure 2. 1054” over all. Thumb-press flat, with 
ples of both are plain, bar of eu 2 beta 
Figure 1. 


PLATE 85 
SUFFOLK LATCHES—SWIVEL LIFT evEGe 


Ficure 1. One needs but to look at the grasp an of the bar 
latch, as shown in the illustration, Figure 1a, at the side, to be convin« 
its origin. It may be older than the house, dated 1791, on wok it 
in the Moravian colony at Wintel Weis Latch 
over all. : ae aes 
Ficure 2. From the home of Mr. Charles Dilingham, 
S. C., and dating from about 1790-1800. In general a 
resembles those in the vicinity of Stratford, Conn., of t 
Plate 35), and it was common ‘in certain sections of Eng . 
long, and has saucered thumb-press with C. L. Bar, ian and cal 


Ficure 3. A specimen from Valley Forge, Pa., and of a ; 
in eastern Pennsylvania, Mes ia New pie ee moet 
is 1158" high. on 


FIGURE 3a. Back-latch group of Figne 4: a suggest 
ity of its being factory-made or a reproduction, and not of a 


Figures 4 and 5. Two latches from Brington, England, 
ations of the same design and of about the same date—late 
tury. They furnish contributory eviieise of the be 
found here i in the colonies. 


[202 }- 


ae") x . ae ai 
We eee 
* . 


= ‘>... 


Le 


: * 
a 


ne Be 


Rene eee! a ee ee ee ee ee 


F L ATE 86 
SUFFOLK LATCHES—SWIVEL LIFT 


Ficure 1. An elongated diamond-shaped cusp, closely akin 
mentioned in Figure 3 of Plate 85. This latch was found in Pali 
It is 1114” in height, and has a round, flat eee: ee S. 
catch, and staple plain. 


Figure 2. This rather oddly eneD dainon tans 1€-FO 
from the home of another signer of the Declaration of Independe 
Paca, of Annapolis, Md. The crescent-shaped swivel sides ¢ 
The thumb-press is unusual in Shipe and has C. Le The. 
over all. 


Fisnas 3. From Middlesex County, Conn.—is 12” long ar 
every inch, with its elongated swivel rest and the stretch of 
handle-grasp. The radial lines of the thunib-press give it the 
pearance characteristic of latches of that vicinity. De S L. 
eighteenth century. 


Figures 4, 5, and 6 are different variations of Pays same theme f 
sign. (See Plate 35, and Figure 2 of Plate 85.) ‘ 


Ficure 4. From Montgomery County, Pa. at tg over al. 
Figure 4a. Note knob for raising bar. as ae 
Ficure 5. From Middle Haddam, Conn.—1790. et over 
Ficure 6. From Charleston, S. oe ee! nine be t 


| 204 } 


et a 


se) ee 


a 
tk 


‘os bs 
lift ia % e, 


PLATE 87 tape ot 


SUFFOLK LATCHES—SWIVEL LIFT TYPB—ARROW-HEAD PA 


Figures 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 are somewhat similar adaptations 
head design of swivel-lift latches, all having the flat-round thu 
straight or only slightly curved lift ends, excepting Figure ce 


Ficure 1. From the Moravian “Sisters House’—1743 
Pa., and typical in the form of its thumb-press and lower oe 
9%" over all. 


- grasp did of the 734” nag | 
Ficure 1b. Sectional view of thumb-press af pee a 
Figure 2. Formerly graced the sed Cd the J mial 


Connecticut Historical Society of that ie: Latch | is ae fron 
Thumb-press has a very ample C. L., as shown at side. The ee 
as is the staple. 


FiGureE 3. From East emsert ah ie see measures: 
a : 


Figure 4. From Rensselaerville, N. in ae is 17" 
staple, and catch plain. Thumb-press has C. L. Catch is | 


Ficure §. An early-nineteenth-century Boston latch wits 
cered ee and Se ie ee ‘ over “es oe 


Ficure 6. a old Quaker Mchar Hoge 
The latch is 12”.over all. Bar and staple plain. But the 
it has an escutcheon plate (which we think was added lat 
brace has been driven directly into the door instead of b 
customary manner, 7. e., the end flattened into a form a 
shown. (See Plate 94, Figures 2 and ae 


{206 | eer an ee nat 


PLATE 88 | 
SUFFOLK LATCHES—SWIVEL LIFT TYPE _ 
Ficure 1. Rather out of its class on this plate, being of the sin 


Mee 


type of later date than previous examples and still in service in 
Md. _ It is 1034” over all, having a deep spoon-shaped thumb. 


—from the Morgan Muséing Collection in hk Junius Spencer N ge 
morial Museum, Hartford, Conn. Thumb-press bee hence o1 
gested in the drawing. oad 


Ficure 3. A Vermont latch of the late cighteenth c cent ' 
all. Thumb-press has slightly C. L. 


Ficures 4 and 5. These two latches with: eee 
similar in form, but differ in thumb-press arrangement, on 
the other a swivel lift. They are widely separated in locat 
Figure 4 is near Utica, N. Y., while Figure 5 guards a de 
magazine along the redoubt of old Fort ateagts, New 
Both have round handle-grasps, that of Fi 5 being t 
group of incised lines at ete intervals, | Rear: 


A ile a ee Se ee ee 
FO ho ‘ ‘ ‘eshte 


PLATE 89 
NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK SWIVEL LIET LATCHES 


Figure 1. From Baltimore, Md. —1034", ‘Has the “A 
press we have ever seen, a tiny flat-round one with Ss. Wise %: 


Ficure 2. Charleston, S. Goa c Li Has vsual 


latch members. 


Figure 3. Charleston, S. C 11%" An escutcheon a 
type of late date. Slightly out of place in this naa 


Ficure 4. Alexandria, Va. © Cee 
Figure 5. Horsham, Pa.—r1", c re pope # Nets 


Ficure 6, Lehigh County, | Pa.—1034". 3 tee 
have been chopped off to make it distinctive, as this sw iy 
the same as Figure 2 in other respects, save that it is at 
The back members are decidedly different. — 


Figure 6a. Back-latch group of Figure ee 
and bar (9!4”’) with rat-tail grasp. 


Except Figures 1 and 6, the chisel sees ot are all saucerec 
All latches, except sae: 6, have similar nee back-latch as 
type. 


- 


ss “ ‘ P 9 bs . 2.5 a 
ye Ss eee ee ee a a ee ee ae eee ee 


PLATE go 


NORFOLK LATCHES OF LATER TYPE 


The array of Norfolk latches on this plate gives one an idea at a. 
of the commonest or most popular forms of this type, the last of tk 
wrought latches. They were factory-made, mostly imported from I 
as previously stated, and were superseded by the cast-iron latches t 
came common after 1845. The illustrations flanking Figure 1 
good idea of their construction: at left, escutcheon plate, and at r 
form. They are typical of those in all the Sicaeoe, though 
happen to be New England specimens. 


Ficure 1. An example with grasp of plain bar i iron, ieee a sw 
ornament welded to its center. This swaged ornament is at Se 2 other 
material—lead or pewter on many of these escutcheon-plate latch “he 
thumb-presses as a rule are saucered and have curved lift ends; che 
lift being rather the exception and more often connected with the: 
press. 


Ficure 1a. Sectional view of swivel arrangement of Fi out 
form opposite. Another form had much less material in siete 
scanty S. L. end, as indicated. 


FicurREs 2, 3, 4, and 5 illustrate some of che more popula 
cutcheon plates and hand-grasps of different swaged ornamentat 


Ficure 6. . Illustrating the back members of this type of | latch 
bar was usually plain. Those of a later date had the added button gra: 
indicated. Escutcheon plates were the rule on the catches and ; 
well as at the axis of the bar. On many of the early latcheas 


were absent. 


{ 212 } 


aoe Nor Ss er oes ae 
ee, oe eS 
” ae ‘ 


PLATE 91 
NORFOLK LATCHES—LATER TYPES eet 


Ficure 1. From the Colonel Bradley homestead i in Watertown, 
—circa 1735. This date, however, is not proof that the latch is 
early vintage, as it possibly replaced an earlier one, though there 
little evidence of such fact. Latch measures 634” over all. 


Figure ta. The back members are plain and ill assorted, the. 
staple without plates, yet a plate-rest is attached to the bar axis. 


Ficure 2. From the Johnson House, Germantown, Pa.—1 
is an exact duplicate of this on the Colonel Bradley House, 1 
above; the bars of both having the added grasp button. 


FIGURE 2a. Back-latch arrangement of Figure preg Thum 
ig A 


Figure 3. From an old tavern near Yardley, Pa—1722. 
9” over all, larger than usual, and has an escutcheon plate of : 
pa thatet it igure 2. Thumb-press, large and dished, has €. Le | 


Figure 3a. The back latch is individual, the bar being 
—1154""—for a latch of this type. Braced catch. of type 
Plate 94, Figure 2. Note absence of ee Bintes a f 
latches. i | 


FIGURE 4. Latch of Norfolk type on the Ee of ihe ahtean 
French armorer’s smithy in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 
City. The shell-formed thumb-press is the aia? of ig 
cut. (See Plates 25, 27, and 40.) . 


Note.—There is a collection of old English oreo 
tions of brass and iron latches of this type in the library of the 
stitute, Salem, Mass. See article by George Francis Dow in the J 
number of Old-Time New England, the poles of the peeciai for t 
vation of New England Antiquities. ere 


~ 


{ 214 } 


eo 


ee | 


y 
e 
4 


PLATE 92 
| CAST-IRON LATCH es | 
Illustrating the first patented cast-iron door late es B 
No. 1704, of July 21, 1840. This latch was taken from the 
House in Piperaville, Bucks County, Pa.—built in 1846 ; 
pointless wood screws. Now in Biche County Historical s 
at Doylestown, Pa. 


The introduction of these cast-iron lates soon ! 
the hand-wrought variety. > 


Ficure 1. Latch is 734” over. all. 
Ficure 2. Bar, 714", and dec 
Figure 3. Catch. 

Figure 4. Sectional view. 

oy IGURE $. A cast-iron latch a aire d 


as great a vogue 4 as ae one kee 


ere 


FIGURE I. 


ee type.) 


FiGuRE 2. 
FIGuRE 3. 
FIGuRE 4. 
FiGure 5. 
Figure 6. 
FiGureE 7. 
Figure 8. 
FIGURE 9. 
FiGuRE Io. 
FicureE Il. 


FIGURE 12. 


thumb-press. 


FIGURE 13. 


press. 


FIGURE 14. 


Figure 15. 


Ficure 16. 


FIGURE 17. 


=~ ie Pee 
: 


| PLATE 93. : 
THUMB~PRESSES OR “STRIKERS” ut Var ee 


Early form. Straight lift iiss very 


Straight lift. 
Straight lift. 
Short S. L. 

Curved lift. 
aes aks 


Shaped, small ps ee re 
(Swivel.) Ample grasp. it 
(Notched type.) 
eYors! nn + 


Curved lift, swivel, with formed erp. 


Curved lift. (Novel.) at 
Curved lift. Saucered thumb-press. 
Curved lift. Drop curved Ren 
Curved lift. bersiveyn e290) (656") 

Curved lift. Circa grap. Notched ; 
Clever Ie eS eee 
Curved lift. Hodges and notched, f 

Curved lift. Swivel. ee 
Curved lift. | 


4 “ , . ¥ 
208 9 tee 
od . Seok 6 ~ ) 
i SAK & rat) ae) M Pl 
Aisle 3 oy 7 » 
, , 


PLATE 94 


LATCH-CATCHES 


Ficure 1. Earliest simple form of catch or kee i 
Figure 2. From the “Indian Door” of the Ensign the Sheldon House— 
1698—at Deerfield, Mass. If this catch was originally so fashioned, then it illus- 
trates a sort of intermediate step in the development of the braced catch. But 
it looks very much as though the brace, once either driven into the jamb 
in Figure 3a, Plate 91, or resting against it in some such form as Figure 2a or 1a 
had later been broken off through accident or erosion. It is the only one 
particular form we have thus far discovered; Figure 4 on this plate being the ; 
est approach to it, though that hails from Mary and, is of much later vintag 
has a shorter and better-fashioned extending end. : 
Figure 2a. From St. Albans, England. 
Ficure 2b. From latch owned by Mr. Randolph R. Urich, of My 
Pa. (See Plate 77, Figure 2b.) Similar form on latch from an inn HEAR 
Pa, (See Plate 91, Figure 3a.) 
Ficure 3. An interesting Pennsylvania catch, the finial of the bese 
to match the cockshead latch. (See Plate 72, Figure 2, and Plate i Vis aaa 
Figure 4. Early nineteenth-century catch from Annapolis, we 
Ficure 5. Rather uncommon bifurcated brace from Weth 
(See Plate 27, Figure 2a.) 
Ficure 6. Catch welded to back escutcheon plate, the usual form 
all factory-made wrought-iron latch groups of the early nineteenth c 
Ficure 7. One form of twisted braced catch, especially ch 
Pennsylvania. | 
Ficure 8. Another form from the Wythe House, Williamsburg, 
(See Plate 81, Figure 2a.) 
Ficure 9. A‘catch with unusually large twisted brace on Quaker M 
House, Lahaska, Pa.—1768. (See Plate 67, Figure 2.) ? F 
Ficure 10. Another style of ornate bifurcated catch brace from 
—early nineteenth century. (See Plate 39, Figure 1a.) = 
Ficure toa. Lebanon County, Pa., s raee with brace at side. eo 
Ficure 11. Braced catch with attached escutcheon, from York, Pa.— 
1760. A type frequently found as part of a latch-lock group. a 
Ficure 12.. Neatly fashioned small braced type. 
Ficure 13. Pennsylvania braced catch with side offset pike 
Ficure 14. Very rare specimen of unusual design from 
at Winston-Salem, N. C.—circa 1790. 
Figure 1s. From the Silliman House, Fairfield, Conn —1760. 
Figure 15a. From Plymouth, Mass. Shutter-catch. 
Ficure 16. An oddly devised arrow-head side-braced catch p 
to meet a special condition, from Pennsylvania—late eighteenth ce r 
Plate 76, Figure 1, for other members.) . 
Ficure 17. A Massachusetts catch, probably made for latch-lock but 
combined with another type of early lock. ee 


[ 220 } 


PLATE 95° 
"BARS 


Ficure 1. From Graeme Park, Pa.— 1722. A good 
bars of early period, simple and practical in form. == 


Ficure 2. Another specimen, slightly later in date, from the 
ity, with the added small knob for grasp. This knob was ct 
the later factory-made bars. | 


Ficure 3. A bar with sadiiowel sues of thickness in | 
and ornamental square at Se end, from Bethlehem, Pa a 
type. 

Ficure 4. A Connecticut raphe of ornamented. bar 
around 1800. Note the ample curved lift end of the 


acteristic of the latches of this ey a gg 39; I 
latch. 


Ficures ¢ and 6. Pinnivcen pees with fashioned r 
the bar end. Note lopeehenees brace of catch on eye ‘ 


i 
. 
) 


PLATE 96 ) ; 


BARS 


Figure 1. From the Sullivan House—1833—and now in the col ie 
of the Bucks County Historical Society, Doylestown, Pa. The rather 
usual feature of this group is the ovate form of its staple, a charac erist 
Pennsylvania work. Bar is 14” long. See Plate 7o, Figure 2, 
latch. 


Figure 2. A most elaborate back-latch group from eee 
lonial’”’ building now used as a library in Middle Haddam, Conn. 
is a disagreement as to its actual date, but judging from its gene 
acter it is of late eighteenth century. See Plate 59, Figure 2a, 
with more ornate escutcheon plate. Note unusually ornae : 
plate to protect opening for lift end. : 


Figure 2a. Front latch of Figure 2. 1234 " long. 


Ficures 3 and 4. Two Pennsylvania bars with coiled r 
Figure 3 being similar to the reproduction on the old Ward F 
Institute, Salem, Mass. < 


Ficure 5. Bar with uncoiled rat-tail grasp—tapering tad 1 
Owned by Mr. Ralph W. Burnham, Ipswich, Mass. See Pla 
2a, for another Massachusetts bar of this type with both ae 
tached. 


Ficure 6. Pennsylvania bar with conical tapering spiral 
an old eighteenth-century barn door in Berks County, . : 
The rough sketch below shows notched ornamentation on < 
kind in the du Pont Collection, the staple of which is also simile 
much after the fashion of some of the Connecticut smiths. 


Ficure 7. Bar of Dutch knocker latch, Wyckoff House—1 
end, Long Island, showing type of incised-line aang: | 


[ 2agh oe 


cre «eS ee 


OF | ee ae ¢ ~ 
7 Re eres ne ee 


NW eh et ee 
oa AM: 
pate 
e 
B3 


PLATE we 


BARS 


_ Figures 1 and 2. Two NPR e County, Pa., latch groups a unane n 
neither of them have front-cusp members, but are swiveled f 
staple as shown in illustrations at the left. 


Ficure 3. Another from the same locality with ie sinilke ) 
Figure 2. Front latch shown in Figure 3a measures. 84" over a 


Ficure 4. Another example of skimpy rat-tail grasp on 
Lebanon County, Pa. A peculiar feature is the fashionir 

of the thumb-press. Instead of the usual notching, the sh 
has been tapered, then returned and welded as ee: E 
latch shown in Figure 4a at left. — ie 


Figure 5. An odd back-lateh group ot ya see 
Note small knob grasp; escutcheon plates at catch, staple, 
special fashioning of bar underneath grasp; unusual form of He 
latch is of ordinary bean type, swivel-lift. | 


Ficure 6. A lone Rhode Island bar with ieee s 
those of early eighteenth century in NSS ig the 
the Newport Historical Society. 


Leta 


PLATE 98 


LATCH-LOCKS FROM PENNSYLVANIA 


Figure 1. From a Moravian house at Bethlehem, Pa.—1742-so 
Back members of an ordinary latch, i. e., staple and bar, attached to’ 
escutcheon plate, illustrating the first step in the transition from latch 
lock. -See also Plates 53, 54, oe 55 for New Pers eresselegs of bar wit 
escutcheon plate. 


Figures 2 and 3. Good examples of the second “te in he tra 
from latch to lock, 7. e., a spring arrangement attached to the bar com 
with the cam. They are from the same locality as Figure 1, and hav 
similar plates, but show bar-releasing devices of different kinds, 
having the characteristic “Pennsylvania German”’ press and Figure 
round, full-fledged knob. These latches are sometimes found wi 
handies, e.g., Figure 5 and Plate 99, Figure 2. Many of them 
came from England, for they are quite uniform in size and shay 
some instances are stamped with the factory mark or name, ¢. g 
Bratt on Figure 2. Braced catch at the left, we think, is of cen 


Ficure 4. Made by a local Moravian blacksmith in Bet le 
Has similar press handles on both sides of the door. 


Ficure 5. A fairly common arrangement pO es same pri 
as early English latches of this type, but having a yh aaa on th 
of the door, and the additional bolt on the back. Found i in| 
and Philadelphia. (See Figure 2 on Plate 99.) : 


Figure 6. From Carpenters Hall, Philadelphia, and ae unc 
because of various alterations in original building of 1734. This 
lows the earlier ones in its general form, but has the additional cam m 
common to those of the Dutch type. The escutcheon plates on all its 
bers and the brass knob on the bar would indicate a later oe 
when the building was erected. : 


Figure 7. From the Green Tree Inn, Germantown, Pa | 
Figures 2 and 3, but with a more ornate plate. Date about 1 
almost identical with the New England specimen on Plate 99, _ 
was originally similarly equipped with cam and knob members, n 
(See also Figure 4, Plate 99.) 


7 


[ 228} 


PLATE 99 
LATCH-LOCKS 


Figure 1. Of knob type and originally from Ney wington, 
now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. 


Ficures 2 and 3. Show the front and back latches’ 
type. It was on the door of the Congregational Church, 
was removed some time ago at the instigation of the pas 
to the noise it made when used by aN Go ae hacia! 
Pratt, the kindly smith of Essex. isis 


Ficure 4. Casement-window latch from the old 
England. The hole under the latch-bar is evidently for 
knob or drop son ae to > that i in ais % oy 


XK Fe 


tee Oe 


ee! es 


ae or ay ae 


cree 


PLATE 100 


LATC H-LOCKS 


Ficure 1. Simple latch-lock from the Sisters Vouse of the M 
settlement at Winston-Salem, N. C.—dated 1762. Latch-bar with 
and staple fastened to a plain back plate. Neatly fashioned catch ¥ 
supporting brace.. The front latch, shown on the small illustration at r 
is of an ordinary kind with round, ‘flat baeidess Pi having S. Lys 
Size of plate, 834” x 434”. ; ae 


Ficure 1a. Rough sketch of another airnnia) backplate 
Charleston, S. C., similar to Figure 1 but without the spring m 


Ficure 2. An interesting ornate back latch, probably from 

church building of the Moravians at Bethlehem—circa 1743. It was 
found with other door hardware (see Plate 120, Figure ae 
rafters of the cellar of the present church, which was built i in 


Ficure 3. Another latch-lock of more elaborate design 
work, still on a door of the old historic Racine Lutheran a 
by Muhlenberg and others in Trappe, P ae Plate oT 
Sketch of front latch at right. 


{ 232 } 


a) 


¥ ‘epeEy? Tj 


PLATE 101 


LATCH=LOCKS 


Ficure 1. An early specimen from the Brucker House, Bucks Coun 
Pa., of the period before the Revolution of 1776. Now in the | 
the Bucks County Historical Society in Doylestown, Pa. Ornate 
plate and handle-grasp are typical of the Pennsylvania German 
of the period. Plate is 676” over all. Compare with Spanish 
Plate 16, Figure 3, which has similar arrangement, mea a 
with turn-button rather than handle-grasp. 


Ficures 1a and 1b. Variations of same type as Figure s 


sylvania. 


Ficure 2. Rear view of Figure 1. Note the ornament 
common to most European latch-locks of this and earlier perio 
the characteristic Palatinate worker's tulip pana ae n 
x 3” over all. Drawn 34 size. of 


Ficure 3. One of the most unique Panawane 3€ 
common enough in some localities, in which the press, 
key. When this outside press is removed by 
To open the latch one simply inserts this “key” in the : 
winds till set. Then pressing down i in the usual Papine 
bar. Plate measures 654” x 3”. | 7 ? 


{ 2341 


ae ene Oe re ae 


PLATE 102 


LATCH-LOCKS 


Ficure 1. Another Moravian type from the group at Be mr 
This one adorns the-front door of the Widows House—1768—and is 
characteristic piece. The escutcheon plate—g}4”’ over all—with its 
or bird’s head finial, seems to have been a favorite design with the s 

this section. There are others of similar kind on the doors of : 
building—1742—while the escutcheon shown on Plate 109, Figure 
most identical though somewhat smaller. See also ne 78 and 83 
as Plate 72, Figure 2. | 


Ficure 2. Back-latch member of Figure 1. This needs no | 
planation, as its mechanism is obvious—a transition between latch 
—of German or Swiss origin and probably locally made. The 
cutcheon is 8” over all, and the handsome catch or — jee, | 
—about 4% ; 


FIGURE 3. db from one of the front doors of the new 
Moravian Church—1803. Escutcheon, 7% ” over all. | 


{236} os 


duced ) 
(Re 

G2 

Fig. 


PLATE 103 
LATCH-LOCKS ~ 


Ficune x, Eeniehe Batrenat “Pulaski”’ est of the Mora | 
House” —1773*—at Bethlehem, Pa. Characteristically Ge 
ship, with the usual large handle-grasp of its kind. 


Figure 2. Reverse side of a T, Note ‘ncividua 


visbae a Front-latch group af a ek of dee pe 
Pa. This type is common throughout eastern Pennsylyar 
ably made in quantities by the local blacksmiths. oe 


Ficure 4. A seventeenth-century European speci 
with elaborately wrought grasp, from Lucerne, Swit: 


Ficure 5. Many of these presses or grasps were ha 
this specimen giving one a good idea of the type of orn: 


 * The aban seemi discrepancy in dates when the Mosel “ “Sisters House” 
due to the fact t fecctihe of the Beatin ete Se ee 4 


oe: Renee Ne Pena 


Fiat Pte be ray Ihe Pere aN Ten 7H 


PLAPR ei 


_LATCH-LOCKS— 


Wienke 1and2. Front a oe views ooh a ‘Seen ieee faee ! 
date circa 1825. The front handle still retains the same general 
now appears with the added gst knobs as ees gears 
boxed in, or nearly so. ‘ 


at Bethlehem, Bal In ‘ee instance, hawevey ri pak 
for we have never noticed a is siweemunelle in ekttier of t he 


Ficure 7. aac Palnepienets fate tos ocks t 
ure 2, but fdas with bovine et and eo ee bei 


ee omen meee Es Bd a i SR LIP a Lai ees. 
‘ ee r f yrs ae | 5 Pe : $ 2, Sano 
2 . y fells e halen J a 


PLATE 105 
LATCH-LOCKS | 


Figure i. An Gude ecnbinatien 2 eR ee cast wou 
old house in Annapolis, Md. The escutcheon plate with spring a 
and bar, evidently from an old lock, are of wrought i iron, while the 
staple are of cast iron. The knob on the street side is brass, on 
white porcelain or china. This freakish arrangement of materi 
lustrates the perplexities that beset the searcher for accurate 
being a possible difference of a 1 ene or more in aaa: of tl 
parts. 


Ficure 2. Lock cased ve: oor of ious Edwards | 
ampton, Mass., where the missionary to the Indians, Dav 
on October 8, AS asee ‘It is now pee of the spinon of | 


Jireh Bull ‘  Ganvene” Heike at ers Kane Pw 
dians in 1675. a8 Fine 106, ae E a ake re) 
inyporter,) 4 


FIGURE 3. Pach Ree ‘the Gist ‘Tene tant at Ger 
1767—with a button grasp on the bar in lieu of a knob, 
key throw has an oval box plate. The catch also has an o1 
cheon plate, probably of a later aise mb au 


OT ph oe. ho) en 2 
“ my . a ao 


PLATE 106 
“LOCKS: 


Figure Te ek ane ag Jireh Bull “ Gane Cer: 
ton, R. I.—1675—and now in the keeping of the Rhode Isl 
Society at Providence, R. I. Recent excavations have 
house of some importance for its time, and a nie. 
of hardware were dierent ita Plate reas 


of the Women’ Ss Club af Gonmeeag Pan > dr -f 
brass, the latch itself working on the cam principle oft he old Dut 
but with additional escutcheon plate and spring. ates 


Figure oe Drop-handle feature of Figure 2, 
on some of the more pretentious houses of that, 
ginia, Massachusetts, ane bogees Liga, are 


ee oe Oe 


— 


4 


a y 
t 


PLATE toy 
, ‘Locks 


Fiore 1. Lock from the old Crown Inn—1743 
Probably the work of a local Moravian smith, as th 
cutcheon, etc., are suggestive of the hardware hand 
This lock is now in the Moravian Museum at Naz 


FIGuRE 2. ‘Dock of the old Spanish Barbe 


fests 3. From Ne old rats Taine 
_Mad., shows another lock of somewhat similar type, 
ing. Locks of this type were common to all the earl 
them heroic in size, particularly on se ey ay 
character. | 


* 


£ 
r, 
7 

: 


A tl, i ee, Nl 


-" 


oie ees: 
— 


ee 


of New York City, are from sea hie once ane t sere 
They are unusually fine in design and workmanship, from the nice 
tracery of Figure 1 to the carefully thought-out. details of the 
keys. Indeed, Figures 1 and 3 are more SUSEORENE of the 
than in the fowler iron. nes ate aa ee 


Ficure 1. It must have alten no ine pavieacsanar 
work out this elaborate pattern. Note tak gouged tooling 
upper units flanking the centralone. : 


Ficure 2. Simple and dignified and ome suited t 
used. Its key is particularly pleasing 1 in design, and 


Ficure 3. This refined motif with i its tiny dot 
out in the unueialy ornate Sona BAe. poe d 


4 Pie 


bgt nt tree) ea 


of. S| <a ee ee 


oa wie Ae + ee Se ee 


ee m7 ad a ete yeh a ae 


PLATE 109 


LOCK ESCUTCHEON PLATES 


Figure 1. From the Moravian Museum, Nazareth, Pa., a design rn ¢ 
similar to that of a latch from Bethlehem, Pa. (See Plate 102, Fi 


* 


Figure 2. An eighteenth-century escutcheon formerly in | 
Hall, Philadelphia, but removed in 1857 during alterations. 


Figure 3. From Bell House, Bethlehem, Pa.—eighteenth Be ul 


Ficure 4. From Elder Brewster’s chest brought over on ie 
1620 and now in Connecticut Historical Society’s bachamiag re 


Ficure 5. From Old San Miguel Mission, California—eig 
tury. Drawn from sketch by Mr. Hervey P. Clark, of Santi 


Figure 6. From old church i in insite Pa.—late oo 


nineteenth nen 


R. Urich, of ‘Myerstown, Pa., included because of resem blan 
of Figuie 1 and interesting decoration. 5 


Figures 8 and 9. Old Pennsylvania escutcheons from n the 
Mr. E. Zimmerman, of Monterey, Pa. 2 


Ficure 10. From Bethlehem, Pa. 


Ficure 11. Escutcheon -from door of ini Cathedral 
Canada. 


Ficure 12. Heart escutcheon fii old Bronk House, G 
Ny Ys 


FiGuRE 13. Cockshead hee recently dicunened from 
of old Fort Ticonderoga, N. Y. This piece, as well as ott 
acteristic Pennsylvania German design found there, was 
by some of the Hessian contingent of the British ieee Stoned 
Diy An Pore is . 


Bs es ne we 


SRS ET Ae A 


PLATE 1 1O 


LOCK ESCUTCH BON PLATES 


) ‘mma 


Ficures 1 and 3. Old Pennsylvania escutcheons from the 
of Mr. C. Musselman, of Ephrata, Pa. 7 


Figure 2. Mr. L. - vee s collection at Lebanon, Par : 


Ficure §. Collection 7, Mr. Ww. E Bailey, of Hargis 


Ficures 6, 7, 8, and ro. From the collection of Mr. Ea 
Monterey, Pa. 


Ficure 9. From the pais: at Mr. Francis . 
town, Pa. py 


Ficure 11. From the Backus ine in ane 


Ficure 12. From New Haven Colony fees 
at New Haven, Conn, 


as 
S} 


Ficures 1, 1a, ae 2. “Tren ae eallecGen. of ae Nx 7 
Historical Society, at New Haven, Conn. Figure 1, from an ol 
1657, a graceful and pleasing design with bevel and chatnfer 
both escutcheon and fais sel on ie lef eae | 
es of Fi igure 2 2. 


rie 4 and Ss Wy rom n the eget of FM. LJ. 
ra: | at ae . 

Ficure 6. Froma piece of i 
Mires, of sihitonttt rey yo A 


PLATE 112 


LOCK Shape cic PLATES | 


Ficures 1, 2, ae 3. From the “Michael dey 3 
town, Lebanon County, echinceinee the < 
R. Urich. 


FIGURE é From the old Valley oe near ar York, Pa - 
ay Mr. A. G. Ramsey. (Oval knob.) — | 


Figure 6. From the collection of Mr. . ie Mir fs 


“PLATE 1a eee 

LOCK ESCUTCHEON PLATES” ee 

Ficures 1 and 3. _ A pair of rare and unique Heseice 5 
from the: extelleit colledeii of Mrs. J. Insley Blair, Tuxedo 


These carefully wrought reminders of the stirring days of 
of some Pennsylvania German craftsman of that time. _ 


‘Ficure 2. Another handsome Pennsylvania escutcheon 
lection of Mr. F. D. Britton, West Chester, "Pave (o> 


Ficure 4. Key from the old Bruton Parish (ori a! y 
Church—of about 1s ee Va wet : 


f a Roe 


ihe 


fuga 


‘PLATE 11 40 is 

: _- LOCK ESCUTCHEON. PLATES Baie ee 
Ficures 1, 2, 7, and 8. Italian and Ch a Bn Gi similar 0 

in Pennsylvania and New Orleans. ras 


FicurEs 3, 4, and 9. Pennsylvania toes: “he two ieee 
lection of Mr. H. F. du Pont, Southampton, Long Island; Fig 
cellent example of its kind of the pia pe 


Ficure 5. From Wells Cathedral in England. 


Ficure 6. Escutcheon and hasp from sixteent 
owned by Ms. a D. ee a Bf ee Ey ae 


PLATE er 5 


DOOR=PULLS AND ESCUTCH EONS 


Door-pulls were not in very general use here in our color 
from such information as we have been able to gather. They 
enough in Europe in houses of the better type, and there were a | 
of wood on this side of the Atlantic, but an Sate American \ 


door-pull is quite rarely met with. 


Ficures 1, 2, and 3 were sketched from alls still on Kan 
old Valley Inn—1738-—neat York, Pa., now owned by Mr. A 
Figure 3 shows incised and chamfered grasp, while in Figures 
gest the outlines of the grasp or pull, showing the escutcheoi 
detail. At the side is a sectional view. Tops of Figures 


Figure 4. Escutcheon of door-pull taken from an old. 
County, Pa.—1760. This fine specimen is now owned b 
R. Urich, of Myerstown, Pa. 


Figure 4a. Sectional view. 


Figure 5. An siahteentheeoeeeee French oe pul 
sketch by Mr. Hervey P. Clark, of Santa Barbara, Cal ie 


Ficures 6 and 6a. Sections of another pace | 
Figure 3, but with plain grasp, owned aay Mr. H. F. du ¥ 
Long Island. | 


Figure 7. Wooden sob ceenilk for old cpr Ve 
Wells, England. A good illustration of the type spk in dees é 
door hardware was not readily obtainable. : 


Figure 8. This wooden door-pull and a nse 1 
on the back door of the old di ons and Abigail agp) 
Mass. 


{ 262} i | ? 


ee 


« 
a we 
eee ee 


oe Sh 
x2 


nO a 


TUTE 


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we 


